Outrage in Montreal over use of 5th overall pick may force Habs to send David Reinbacher back to Europe
When Matvei Michkov was still on the board as the Habs stepped up to the podium to make the 5th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, they had the opportunity to select the superstar winder, who many had viewed, skill-to-skill, to be the 2nd best player in the draft. Many were surprised that they chose Austrian defenseman David Reinbacher instead.
The Habs have struggled offensively of late and Michkov, while he wouldn't be available to them for presumably at least 3 years due to his KHL contract, would have been an offensive catalyst in Montreal. On top of that, the Habs have a plethora of young defensemen and defensive prospects, so adding Reinbacher was a questionable move at the time, especially because he wasn't the best player available with Michkov and Ryan Leonard still on the board.
Habs fans were not happy with the decision at all, as there were audible boos from the crowd. Fans also took to social media to express their displeasure. The displeasure ended up turning to outrage and anger and has now put the Habs in a difficult position.
The Canadiens would like to have Reinbacher play in North America next season, to get him accustomed to the NHL-sized ice and their systems, but they are hesitant to do so right now and they feel that having him play in North America would do more harm than good currently because of the volatility of the Habs' fanbase following his selection. Canadiens fans have been flooding Reinbacher's DMs with thousands of hate messages. I wish I was kidding, but here we are.
Reinbacher is reportedly willing to play wherever the Habs would like him to play, whether that is in Europe, the AHL or WHL. It is still too early to determine what the Habs will do as the draft just ended, but should the outrage and threats continue over the summer, it will make their decision easier as they will likely have Reinbacher stay in Europe until the temperature comes down a bit in Montreal.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 30 | 105 ANSWERS Outrage in Montreal over use of 5th overall pick may force Habs to send David Reinbacher back to Europe Will David Reinbacher play in North America next season? | ||
| Yes | 19 | 18.1 % |
| No | 86 | 81.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
