The Montreal Canadiens announced on Wednesday that defenceman Kaiden Guhle underwent minor surgery to his adductor muscle in the off-season and will be sidelined for the next four-to-five weeks.
Montreal opens the season on Sept. 29 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, meaning Guhle will miss at least the first few games of the Canadiens season.
Guhle was limited to 39 games last season, scoring two goals with 11 points while averaging 19:28 of ice time. In the playoffs, he had eight assists in 19 games.
He missed 39 games due to adductor muscle surgery in October, missing all of November and December before returning against Nashville on Jan. 10.
He is entering the second season of a six-year, $33.3 million contract with an AAV of $5.5 million.
The Edmonton native has skated in 208 career NHL games, scoring 18 goals with 69 points.
The Canadiens have had a busy week, signing free agent winger Chris Kreider to a one-year contract, extending forwards Zachary Bolduc and Alex Newhook to four-year deals and inking defenceman Arber Xhekaj to a one-year contract.
Head coach Martin St. Louis also signed a multi-year extension with the club on Monday.
