The Montreal Canadiens defenceman Kaiden Guhle has been handed down a one-game suspension. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety made the decision on Friday to hand down Guhle the one game. The incident itself was as Guhle sat on the bench, he reached out with his stick and slashed Philadelphia Flyer forward Travis Konecny. This would by no means be a malicious act, but the fact that he was not on the ice, definitely warranted a suspension.
Montreal’s Kaiden Guhle has been suspended for one game for slashing Philadelphia’s Travis Konecny. https://t.co/GQYelVtEo5
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 29, 2024
Kaiden Guhle of the Canadiens Receives a One-Game Suspension
The 22-year-old Canadien defenceman is in just his second season in the NHL, with 112 games under his belt. Furthermore, for Kaiden Guhle, this marks the first suspension of his career. All these factors mattered when it came to determining the severity of the punishment. Guhle isn’t known as an overly aggressive player, but he does possess a feisty side. That is evidenced by his 197 hits and 83 PIMs so far in his NHL career. Also, he plays just over 21 minutes a night this year in Montreal. Therefore, he is often involved in the play, and skating fast on pucks. Sometimes your emotions get the best of you. Now, the fact he did such an act from the bench, directly resulted in him being suspended.
This is the slash from the bench that earned Kaiden Guhle a hearing today with @NHLPlayerSafety
Via @RDSca
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 29, 2024
Did the Action Justify the Decision?
Konecny seemed to be caught off guard by the act. Hence, he reacted as if he had been hurt on the play, shaking and holding his hand that was hit by Guhle. Furthermore, Guhle was reacting to a confrontation by Konecny, as he was tied up in front of the Flyers bench with Juraj Slafkovsky. Guhle, as a defenceman, was likely looking to stick up for the Canadiens 2022 first-overall draft selection. All-in-all, this is not something you will grow to expect from Guhle, and he will learn from it. But at the same time, Guhle is a gamer, and as the Canadiens grow into a competitive team, he will need to keep his emotions in check, while still sticking up for his teammates.
Main photo: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
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