Canadiens ready to take 'next step': Kaiden Guhle
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He's only 23 and about to enter his fourth season with the Canadiens, but Kaiden Guhle is quickly emerging as a leader in the dressing room and, more importantly, on the ice with his physical play.
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After reaching the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career, the defenceman believes the Canadiens are there to stay and that the painstaking rebuilding process is over.
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'I think a lot of us are over the rebuild talk,' Guhle said during Friday's season-ending media availability. 'I think we're ready to go now. It was the first playoff appearance for a lot of us. It was a really good experience for a lot of us to get into these meaningful games. I think we're ready to take that next step for sure.'
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It wasn't the easiest of seasons for the Canadiens collectively and Guhle individually. He had an appendectomy in September and then lacerated the quadriceps muscle in his leg during a Jan. 28 game against Winnipeg. Surgery was required the next day and he returned one month later.
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The Canadiens' first-round (16th overall) draft choice in 2020 had six goals and 18 points in 55 games.
As for the Canadiens, they rebounded after the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament to capture the Eastern Conference's final wild-card berth, making the playoffs for the first time since 2021. While Montreal fell to Washington in five games, the series was competitive.
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During the second period of Game 5, Guhle was part of a three-on-one break while the Canadiens were short-handed and trailing 2-0 in a game they lost, 4-1.
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'Playoff hockey is hard,' Guhle said. 'It's tough. Mentally and physically, it's a grind. The bounces didn't go our way. Every play matters because it's so tight. If I score in that fifth game, who knows where we're at now? Every play matters even more in the playoffs. We know what it takes to get there. To stay there is tough. It was important to get there and experience it. I have no doubt that we'll be back. Everyone in this room is young and hungry. I have so much belief in this group.
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'We were resilient all year and never gave up. There were a lot of tough days at the rink. Obviously, not every day was easy and fun. It seemed for a bit there were a lot of tough days in a row. It would have been easy for us to give up and throw the towel in. Not one guy did that. I think we take that adversity we went through this year. It's going to be huge for this group. A lot of the core guys will remember that feeling and this feeling now that we're having. Obviously, it's not guaranteed to make the playoffs every year, but we'll be back for sure.'
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