An unexpected spot on the Canadiens defense opens up a fierce three way battle

The Montreal Canadiens appear to already have a major injury concern before training camp has even begun. However, that injury opens up a huge opportunity and creates a fascinating training camp battle that should interest all fans.

On Monday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reported that Kaiden Guhle is still recovering from offseason surgery and might not be back until sometime in November. Entering training camp, if healthy, Guhle was expected to be one of the Top 6 defensemen for the Canadiens, but injuries are nothing new for him.

In four seasons, Guhle has appeared in only 208 regular season games out of a possible 328, and last season played only 39 regular season games before playing in all 19 playoff games.

Montreal Canadiens have an opening in their lineup and plenty of players fighting for it

One of the big questions for the Montreal Canadiens entering training camp was who would be the seventh defenseman, assuming everyone was healthy. Now that it appears that Guhle will miss training camp and potentially the first month of the season, it opens up a regular spot that will have three players who realistically could win it.

The most experienced, but also the one who is still without a contract, is Arber Xhekaj. After Zachary Bolduc signed a new contract over the weekend, Xhekaj is the last restricted free agent unsigned for the Canadiens.

One of the reasons that Xhekaj may still be unsigned is that he wants to be a regular in the lineup. There are rumors that Xhekaj could be re-signed soon, and this opportunity may be the motivation to get a deal done.

Even on a one-year deal, Xhekaj may get an extended stretch to show what he can do early in the season. This gives him the chance to either hold onto the job after Guhle returns or improve his trade value to the point that Kent Hughes can move him once Guhle is back on the ice.

However, Xhekaj will be competing with two top prospects in Adam Engstrom and David Reinbacher. Both made their NHL debut last season with Engstrom playing in 15 games and Reinbacher playing in two.

While Engstrom has played more games in Montreal, Reinbacher has higher expectations as he was the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. It has been a long road to get here, and he is the only player drafted in the first 13 picks of that year who has 10 or fewer NHL games.

This is his best chance to prove he can be a full-time NHL player, and while Engstrom and Xhekaj certainly can make their case, the pressure will be on Reinbacher to win this training camp battle and be on the ice Opening Night for the Montreal Canadiens.