The Montreal Canadiens’ first-round pick at the 2023 draft, David Reinbacher, has not been lucky with injuries so far in his young career, but he still believes that he can be the right-shot defenseman the Habs need, according to TVA Sports’ Anthony Martineau.
The journalist who covers the Canadiens’ daily activities reported that he made some calls recently about the young blueliner and that the ball will very much be in his court come training camp. Martineau explains that when the puck drops in Brossard in September, the Austrian blueliner will no longer be earmarked as a player who needs some more time with the Laval Rocket and that it will be up to him to grab a roster spot with the big club.
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Martineau also reports that the organization really liked what it saw from the 21-year-old this season, both in the NHL and the AHL, and is very aware of how rare, good right-shot blueliners are in the league. From that, he believes the rearguard is unlikely to move this summer.
Reinbacher is perfectly healthy right now and spending some time in Switzerland, where he has already begun training for next season. The youngster will head back to Montreal toward the end of July in readiness for the next campaign.
While there’s no denying that good right-shot blueliners are few and far between in the league, what the Canadiens need is a good right-shot blueliner who can step right in a top-four role. The question then becomes, is Reinbacher the kind of player who could do that? When he was drafted, the team believed that he could, and, from what Martineau reports, it still does.
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In 57 games with the Rocket this season, Reinbacher put up 24 points and played a big role in a fantastic pairing with Adam Engstrom. However, he was once again bothered by injuries, beginning with a broken metacarpal bone in his hand sustained in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in September and ending with his missing the do-or-die Game 5 against the Toronto Marlies, which the Rocket lost, crashing out of the playoffs. In his first two NHL games, the youngster grabbed an assist and took three shots on goal, averaging 13:09 on the ice.
Keeping Reinbacher would make sense for the Canadiens, not just because of how rare his profile is, but also because his value has declined since the 2023 draft, and Kent Hughes is not the kind of GM who likes to sell low; he prefers to maximize asset value. I don’t think Reinbacher should be seen as an untouchable, though. If the Canadiens need to include him in a deal to get a right-shot defenseman who could step right into a top-four role, I don’t think they would hesitate.
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