Canadiens Trade Struble to Predators for Draft Pick

The Montreal Canadiens may have begun to address their log jam on defense, by trading defenseman Jayden Struble to the Nashville Predators on Friday. In exchange the Habs get a 2027 second-round pick, which had previously been acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights, per the official press release).

The trade comes at an interesting point. Not only did the Canadiens coincidentally just lose to the Predators a night earlier, but the Habs are technically already down a fellow-left-handed defenseman in Kaiden Guhle. Guhle is officially rehabilitating following offseason surgery to his adductor muscle and was projected to return in four to five weeks from the point at which the news of his recovery was announced mid-September. Nothing has been announced regarding an imminent return to action, but the timeline would coincidentally align. Guhle did reportedly participate in an optional on-ice training session on Friday.

With the trade, the Canadiens now have four healthy left-handed defensemen on the roster: Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Arber Xhekaj and Adam Engstrom. Guhle would make five, although he has been known to be deployed on the right side, while Engstrom can also do so effectively.

Struble has played in three of the Canadiens’ four games this season, having been scratched against the Predators. In his last game, against the Carolina Hurricanes last Tuesday, his pairing with Xhekaj notoriously struggled, albeit against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

A second-round pick in 2019 (No. 46 overall), Struble first made inroads to becoming an NHL regular in 2023-24 after finishing his collegiate career at Northeastern University the previous season. In a depth role, he played a career-high 59 games in 2025-26. He scored a career-high three goals as a rookie, while notching a career-high 13 points the following season. Last season, he scored two goals and 12 points, while he has so far been held off the scoresheet in 2026-27. In 174 career games, he has seven goals and 35 points.