David Reinbacher: an important aspect of his potential arrival in Laval

As of February 19, 2024, the Laval Rocket is not in the playoff picture.

The Laval club has a 1-1-1 record in its last three games (those over the weekend), which hasn't been enough to keep it in the top five of its division.

As it stands, the Rocket is out of the playoffs. It's not far from the playoffs (two points), but hey.

So there's work to be done to qualify for the playoffs. Jean-François Houle's men will have to play like they did when Arber Xhekaj was in town.

Easier said than done, I know.

Ideally (from the Rocket's point of view), the Habs wouldn't trade too many players at the deadline and wouldn't suffer many injuries. This would allow the Rocket to keep its numbers up for the playoff race.

But ideally, David Reinbacher would arrive in town as soon as possible.

Because yes, even if nothing is confirmed, we can expect to see the Laval Rocket welcome David Reinbacher when his season in Switzerland is over. And that's why we're wondering when that will be.

And on that subject, Marc Dumont(Montreal Hockey Now) went to the source to find out when Reinbacher might be available.

Are you wondering when #GoHabsGo prospect David Reinbacher will arrive in Laval?

There are different scenarios to consider, most of them delaying his arrival. But there's also a scenario that involves Reinbacher avoiding the NL playout entirely.
Detailshttps://t.co/MfBt1vHMIn

– Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) February 18, 2024

First of all, Kloten are 13th out of 14 in the league. Reinbacher's club has five games left in the season and needs to finish 12th to avoid being placed in a relegation playoff position.

Kloten are nine points behind their nearest rivals… and while wins are worth three points, let's just say it's unlikely that the club has what it takes to start winning at this point.

So we have to assume that Kloten and Ajoie, the two worst clubs in the league, are going to face each other in a 4-of-7 that will start in mid-March. The aim? To win the series and avoid relegation.

The worst team in the league can go to the second division the following year.

If Kloten wins the series against Ajoie, the club will be assured of its place in the top flight by the end of March. And from there, Reinbacher could go on to play in Laval, whose regular season ends on April 20.

But what if Kloten loses? A series of relegations would theoretically be on the menu. The winner of the second division championship would cross swords with the loser of the first division relegation series.

We're talking about a 4-de-7, which again would take some time to play out. If Kloten were to take part, it would be some time before Reinbacher would be thinking about the Laval Rocket.

Why am I talking about this as if it weren't a foregone conclusion? Simply because not all teams in the second division, as Dumont tells us, can systematically move up to the first division.

You need the right facilities to move up and, according to Thibaud Chatel, only two teams have been approved: Visp and Olten.

This means that if one of these two teams (who are currently leading their quarter-final playoff series) wins their league championship, there will be a relegation series. But if not? There won't.

Olten, currently seeded third, leads its series 2-1 against Thurgau. Visp, meanwhile, is the seventh-best team, but leads 3-0 against Basel, the league's second-best club.

To see Reinbacher in Quebec as soon as possible, we need to hope for defeats from Olten and Visp. And clearly, that would be a game-changer for the Laval Rocket.

In bursts

– Nothing less.

– Well done.

– To be continued.