Kaiden Guhle's Summer Surgery Is Montreal's Fall Problem

NHL teams treat off-season surgeries like classified government documents. You never hear about them until the leaves start changing colors. Right on cue, Frank Seravalli reports that Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle will miss the next four to five weeks after undergoing adductor repair surgery this summer.

Doing the math on that timeline means Guhle is officially wiped out for the rest of training camp and will miss the start of the regular season. It is a brutal break for a 24-year-old who was supposed to be a foundational piece of the Montreal blue line this year.

"Frank Seravalli reported the 4-5 week timeline via Twitter."

The timing is objectively hilarious in a dark way. Having surgery in the summer and only announcing the recovery timeline in mid-September is the hockey equivalent of telling your boss you broke your leg three minutes before your shift starts.

This is also becoming a troubling trend for Guhle. He is already building a medical chart that reads like a CVS receipt, with previous knee and upper-body injuries keeping him off the ice over the last couple of seasons. Local shows like The Sick Podcast are already throwing around the dreaded injury-prone label, and it is hard to blame them.

For anyone eyeing the Canadiens in early-season betting markets, this is a massive red flag. Montreal is trying to climb out of a rebuild, and losing a top-four defenseman before opening night completely shifts how you should evaluate their defensive props and early moneyline value.

Guhle should theoretically be back in the lineup by late October. Until he proves he can string together a healthy 82-game campaign, the Canadiens are going to have to hold their breath every time he takes a heavy hit into the boards.