David Reinbacher: A return to Switzerland would be the best option for him

David Reinbacher has been the talk of the Montreal Canadiens ever since he was selected fifth overall. The huge backlash that followed his selection showed that many fans were unhappy with this choice and would have preferred Kent Hughes to set his sights on Matveï Michkov instead. But hey, that’s not what happened and we need to start looking forward now.

You can’t change the past, but you can change the future.

The future will arrive very quickly for the Canadiens with training camp, which should start somewhere around September 20. David Reinbacher should be there to rub shoulders with the organization’s other defensemen and show what he’s made of. It’ll be a chance for him to show us the full extent of his talent and try to break into the team’s line-up right away.

But is it really a good idea for him to come to Montreal right away?

That’s the question posed by Shawn Wilken of TheHockeyWriters.com. In his opinion, the Habs should send Reinbacher back to Switzerland, especially since he won’t be able to play with the Laval Rocket due to his escape clause to return to Europe.

Canadiens May Be Best Served by Keeping Reinbacher in Europe https://t.co/JsLL15hheP#THW #HockeyTwitter

– The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) July 28, 2023

Wilken’s main argument in determining Reinbacher’s destination is the level of other defensemen currently in the team’s fold. With the youngsters already well positioned in the organization chart, read here Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Arber Xhekaj and Justin Barron, and veterans David Savard and Mike Matheson, that’s a lot of people for the seven spots available this year.

And that’s without mentioning ~~the excellent~~ Chris Wideman and prospect Logan Mailloux!

On top of all that traffic, it’s not as if it’s essential to bring him to Montreal. The team is far from being in a position where it would like to be competitive. So why waste a year’s worth of development on having him play an average of ten minutes a game, and watching gateway games when he could be dominating with Kloten in Switzerland’s premier league?

In fact, Kloten General Manager Larry Mitchell has already made it clear that he would be delighted to see Reinbacher back with his team.

“If he makes the NHL now, we’ll be happy for him. But if not, we’ll be really happy to have him with us in Kloten for another year.” – Larry Mitchell

That’s not the kind of statement you make when you’re lucky enough to get rid of a problem case on your team. On the contrary, it’s clear that the young Austrian is very much appreciated by his team. It’s an interesting piece of information about the Tricolor’s newcomer.

As an added bonus, a year in Switzerland will lower expectations of him and allow people who are shocked by his selection to calm down. In the end, everyone wins.

In gusto

– The Sabres reach an agreement with one of their top prospects.

IT’S OFFICIAL 😤

We have signed forward Zach Benson to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Details: https://t.co/EFLrxda9yn pic.twitter.com/k1ikHu4t5M

– Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) July 28, 2023

– Patrick Marleau will have another honor.

The @SeattleTbirds are set to retire Patrick Marleau’s number 12 this coming November.

Marleau, the NHL’s all-time games played leader, spent two seasons with the Thunderbirds from 1995-97.

📰 | https://t.co/T0vkVmn8Ds pic.twitter.com/Ma78yHKxCi

– The WHL (@TheWHL) July 27, 2023

– According to Alexander Wennberg’s wife, some female supporters cross the line.