At this point, Montreal Canadiens fans have to just laugh at the absurdity of the situation, as the injuries begin to pile up in comedically tragic fashion. Take defenseman Kaiden Guhle’s specific situation as an example. Originally set to miss 4-6 weeks with what was revealed to be a partially torn adductor muscle suffered Oct. 16 against the Nashville Predators, Guhle will now miss another 8-10 weeks, with the injury having failed to heal properly.
Consider how Guhle has failed to play a full season since reaching the NHL in 2022-23. So, this feels all too familiar and just about par for the course with regard to his personal inability to stay healthy and that of the Habs overall, seeing as they literally set man-games-lost records in consecutive season earlier in their rebuild, with what could end turning out to be merely a brief respite last season (from ‘The Canadiens just can’t catch a break as the injuries pile up,’ Montreal Gazette, Nov. 21, 2023).
In case you forgot, the Montreal Canadiens have the most man-games lost in the NHL over the last three seasons. First in the league in 2021-22 (599), first in 2022-23 (600), third in 2023-24 (390) (via @SNstats).
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) September 29, 2024
Obviously, Guhle is far from alone. If it were just him, there would be little point summarizing the team’s injury situation in a list, like this piece shall attempt to do, ranking the Canadiens’ injured players in increasing order of how much they are arguably missed. Guhle’s value to the team as a top-four defenseman is undeniable and was well-documented at the point at which he first got injured. Operating under the assumption he’s the clear-cut No. 1 here, here are the other three:
3. Patrik Laine
Yes, Patrik Laine was only playing 12:36 per game, effectively relegated to the fourth line this season. However, while he makes this list in last place, his inclusion is far from a mere formality, as he projects to return to action in late February/early March.
This is a player who led the Canadiens in power-play goals last season, and, considering the team’s current circumstances, having gone scoreless on the man advantage in their last five games (17 missed opportunities) heading into action Monday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets, you have to believe he’d have a positive impact in some capacity.
Furthermore, despite how some might suggest Laine is a drag on the team and it’s no loss he’s out of the lineup, facts are facts. From when Laine debuted on Dec. 3 last season, the Canadiens climbed out of the Eastern Conference basement to make the playoffs, playing .621 hockey the rest of the way, a points percentage on par with the season-long ones of the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning. If Laine were such a drag, the Habs wouldn’t have experienced as much success as they did. That is or at least should be undeniable.
If for whatever reason, Laine’s critics choose to cling to the Swiss cheese of an argument that he’s a washed-up locker-room cancer with nothing to offer, they should at least take into consideration Laine is in the middle of a contract year as a pending unrestricted free agent. Even they should be able to acknowledge he has a lot for which to play when he’s finally (and hopefully completely) healthy, because, please remember a serious knee injury did delay his initial projected debut by a few months. It’s hard to assess how much if at all the injury affected his mobility, which is undeniably an issue, but the positive impact he had when he did play, warts and all, was 100% real.
2. Alex Newhook
Alex Newhook’s fractured ankle comes at a delicate time for the forward, who had begun to re-establish himself as a top-six forward on the team, with six goals and 12 points in his first 15 games of the season. He had been coming off a season in which he totalled just 26 points in 82 games, but was two seasons removed from a 34-point campaign in which he was limited to 55 games, coincidentally due to a high-ankle sprain. So, there is a precedent for his success, albeit off a by-all-accounts unsustainably high 25.0% shooting percentage this season.
The thought process is, while Newhook complemented Ivan Demidov on his off wing well, he was largely the beneficiary of the Calder Memorial Trophy frontrunner’s elite playmaking. With Newhook injured, more of a hypothetical goal scorer in Zachary Bolduc may be able to move into his spot and enjoy similar if not greater success. That isn’t to say Newhook is replaceable, because his speed is a legitimate asset to the team, just like his presence in the lineup adds to the team’s overall depth considerably. However, the Habs undeniably have much more significant depth on the wings, to the point they could afford to play Laine on the fourth line to start the season, instead of compared to down the middle.
1. Kirby Dach
Just when it looked like Kirby Dach was gaining momentum and building a case to retake the second-line centre spot and pivot Ivan Demidov, after having been arguably relegated to Line 3 to start the season, he gets injured (again). This, like every other occurrence on this list, should be seen as nothing new to Canadiens fans.
After all, Dach suffered two straight season-ending knee injuries: two games into 2023-24 after he had initially won the No. 2 centre job, and late in 2024-25, following a stretch during which he had finally seemed to find his scoring stride, notching eight goals and 13 points in 23 games. While the broken foot, which is projected to keep him out of action for 4-6 weeks, is significantly less serious, it reinforces the depressing notion that — forgive the foot metaphor— it will be always one step forward, two back for Dach in his bid to integrate himself as part of the team’s young core.
In that sense, Dach’s injury doesn’t just hurt the Canadiens in the short term, forcing them to draw on their already shallow centre depth, an issue his acquisition was intended to help solve. It also forces them to objectively assess whether the pending restricted free agent fits into their long-term plans, when they gave up so much to acquire him in the first place. It doesn’t look good on a number of fronts.