Guhle’s belief in Canadiens sparks long-term commitment

MONTREAL – Kent Hughes continued taking care of business, swiftly following the re-signing of Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj with another major move.

The Canadiens general manager announced on Wednesday that Kaiden Guhle put pen to paper on a six-year, $33.3 million deal, further solidifying Montreal’s nucleus on the blue line.

Guhle shared his thoughts on the contract extension with the media on Wednesday afternoon. Here are a few highlights from his media availability:

Please note that questions and answers have been modified for clarity and conciseness.

Guhle on committing to a long-term deal:

I believe in the group that we have. I love the city. The city's been nothing but great to me. The fans have been unbelievable. They’re definitely the best fans in the league—if not in sports. So, it’s just the city and the guys [that prompted me to stay]. I believe in this group so much, and I think we'll able to make a big splash in the next year or two, and really start to make a push for it.

Guhle on what’s special about being part of the team’s core:

First of all, we're all pretty close in age, which is nice. It wasn't long ago where our captain was in the same position as me, [Juraj Slafkovsky] or some of the other young guys on our team. He's there to help us out whenever we need it, and I think that helps a lot. I think we have such a good group. Everyone is here for the right reasons and wants to win. No one's really worried about their cookies, getting points or accolades, they just want to win. We're trying to get through the process and sometimes the process is tough, but no one thought it was going to be easy. The whole group has such a good mindset going into every year. We always believe in ourselves at the start of the year, that everyone's got the same record, and we have a chance to win it. I think everyone’s just excited about this group going forward.

Guhle on the management believing in the group that’s currently in place:

It’s exciting to get to see what we can do. […] We’re obviously not anywhere close to where we want to be, but we believe it and I think some other people believe that we’re getting there and we’re getting close. It shows that management believes in us, so it’s pretty cool to see that, and they’re giving us a chance to show that we believe in ourselves too.   

Guhle on following Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Slafkovsky in signing a long-term deal:

I feel it with this group. I feel it around the team. I just want to be there. I just want to be in Montreal, be with those guys and battle with those guys every night.