All anyone knows with real certainty regarding David Reinbacher at this stage is the Montreal Canadiens really wanted him. Taking him fifth overall at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, they opened themselves up to scrutiny by adding to their immense organizational defensive depth, while projected-to-be-elite offensive stars like Matvei Michkov and Zach Benson were still available and could have addressed their shortcomings there.
You can add Cutter Gauthier, the Philadelphia Flyers’ fifth overall pick from the previous year, to the list following his trade to the Anaheim Ducks. According to reports, the Flyers tried to trade the Canadiens the potential power forward for the pick with which they used to take Reinbacher, only for the Habs to say “no, thanks.”
In principle, sure, Gauthier probably suits the Canadiens’ needs more. You need only look at how enamored management is with fellow-power forwards Juraj Slafkovsky and Josh Anderson to understand the premium teams tend to place on players like that, having drafted Slafkovsky first overall in Gauthier’s draft year and having held onto Anderson despite reported opportunities to trade him for a pretty decent haul.
Canadiens Still Need a Reinbacher
If you look at it from another angle though, if the Canadiens already have Slafkovsky and had what they thought was a top-six power forward in Anderson (before his early-season scoring struggles in 2023-24), did they need another? Sure, but not necessarily at the cost of Reinbacher, who, in their minds, was a top-pairing, right-handed defenseman in the making.
The closest thing the Canadiens have in the lineup currently is David Savard, who is pretty far off as almost purely a defensive specialist, and his contract is coming due in 1.5 seasons. The closest thing in the organization overall is probably Logan Mailloux, at the other end of the spectrum, and his defensive-zone difficulties have been well-documented. So, it’s far from outside the realm of reason that general manager Kent Hughes would prefer the idea of securing the services of an all-around, potentially elite right shot like Reinbacher.
Obviously, Reinbacher may not pan out as such. In fact, Hughes appeared on RDS recently and offered a less-than-glowing update of the top prospect’s season to date. Hughes suggested Reinbacher has tried to do everything for his team, EHC Kloten in Switzerland’s National League, which, combined with an early-season injury, has resulted in a difficult 2023-24 campaign.
Anyone can second-guess the decision to draft Reinbacher now, but there’s no going back at this point and he can still develop into the elite defenseman the Canadiens presumably envisioned when they picked him where they did. More to the point, there was no second-guessing the selection at the time the Habs made the decision to pick him (on the part of management), as much as many might have thought an elite forward of Michkov’s ilk made more sense. Ultimately, it’s clear Hughes and company had their minds made up and fans and analysts alike should come to respect that instead of playing “what if,” because no one knew how things would play out and everyone still doesn’t know now how they will.
Flyers and Gauthier Suffer Falling-Out
That’s why reports of the falling-out between Gauthier and the Flyers are also relatively irrelevant. They do serve to retroactively justify the decision to stick with Reinbacher, because at the very least a player refusing to play for the team that drafted them is a red flag. Canadiens fans don’t need to look back that far for a homegrown example, when the Habs undeniably made a mistake trading for Jonathan Drouin after he had failed to report to the Tampa Bay Lightning’s American Hockey League affiliate once upon a time.
The situations are different in that the mistake was more so ex-GM Marc Bergevin’s decision to trade a defenseman they needed (Mikhail Sergachev) for another winger they didn’t. However, under normal circumstances, i.e., Drouin not being a native, French-speaking Quebecer, you’d have to think something like refusing to accept a demotion would have been a disqualifying factor, right or wrong due to old-school thinking.
Related: Reason No. 92 Not to Trust Canadiens Management
The reported timeline here is key. It’s been speculated Gauthier first soured on playing for the Flyers a few months before Reinbacher was taken, when they opted not to bring him on late last season. However, part of the reason the trade with the Ducks seemed to come out of nowhere is because the Flyers only seemed to acknowledge the relationship had been irreparably damaged when Gauthier wouldn’t meet with them at the recent World Junior Championship. Up until then, they seemed to keep however strained the relationship had become close to their vest so as not to lose any leverage.
Canadiens Get Their Guy in Reinbacher
Maybe the Canadiens knew something everyone else didn’t. However, until it’s reported that Hughes had insider information that Gauthier wasn’t willing to play for the team that drafted him, the only thing anyone should believe regarding the Habs’ decision to go with Reinbacher is they simply wanted him more. Like it or not, it’s something to be respected… whether in acknowledgement that there’s no going back in time or in support of Reinbacher and his development as hopefully a difference-maker on the team’s blue line for many years to come.
Coincidentally, the Canadiens play the Flyers on Jan. 10, and the Gauthier news will certainly whet fans’ appetites in advance of the puck drop. This piece was written for a reason after all. However, what shouldn’t get lost in the shuffle is how the Flyers proposed the trade because they also reportedly wanted Reinbacher. The trade for Jamie Drysdale, another highly touted right-handed defenseman, reinforces that notion.
So, it’s not like the Canadiens were alone in wanting Reinbacher, which maybe softens the blow of them failing to take one of the forwards on whom many had their hearts set. Meanwhile this whole saga further plays into how draft picks, even high ones, are far from certainties, whether it’s Reinbacher’s disappointing season so far or the fact Gauthier decided he didn’t want to play for the Flyers.
Things can go badly, quickly, and situations can get embarrassingly mishandled at even the highest level. Mistakes get made. No one knows everything. According to reports, the Flyers don’t even know for sure why Gauthier made the decision he did. So, it’s maybe comforting that we now know beyond a reasonable doubt the Canadiens took the player they really wanted.
No, Reinbacher may not become the player they wanted when they took him. However, if they refused an opportunity to trade the chance to draft him for a player almost unanimously considered a superior prospect in Gauthier, they clearly had their reasons. It’s likely not that they knew something others didn’t. They just believed in their guy and they took him. In the here and now, when Reinbacher’s future with the team is largely unwritten, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. With another top prospect in Gauthier having supposedly felt slighted in some way by the Flyers to the point of wanting out, the Canadiens can do a lot worse than showing unyielding faith in their player instead.
