Injury to Canadiens’ Reinbacher hits harder than one to Laine – The Hockey Writers – Canadiens Prospects

To be clear, the Montreal Canadiens are far from averted disaster, amid reports that Patrik Laine would not require surgery and would be out “only” two to three months. While that was essentially a best-case scenario based on what Laine’s injury looked like in the preseason, the undeniable fact is that the Habs will be without a leading scorer after the American Thanksgiving who is still in his top scorer, which is considered as the point at which the play-off picture appears to be taking shape.

Now, the playoffs aren’t exactly the most important thing for most Canadiens fans. While a dramatic one-season turnaround from the team’s fifth-from-last finish in 2023-2024 is theoretically possible, most recognize the team is far from legitimate contention (even if they were to beat the literal Vegas odds and would make it). So no harm, no offense?

Laine Prognosis of little comfort

Not exactly. Although Laine reportedly does not need surgery, no one should fool themselves. It’s a serious injury, and it would be infinitely better if Laine is healthy than not. In fact, this is a player with superstar potential who needs one more setback in his professional career, much like the Canadiens need one more preseason game at this point.

Please, just stop the bleeding, somehow.

Patrik Laine has undergone surgery that does not require surgery. The period of readjustment is twice as long ago.

Striker Patrik Laine suffered a left knee sprain that does not require surgery. His rehabilitation period is… pic.twitter.com/sEPrSPDGHH

— Canadiens Montreal (@CanadiensMTL) October 1, 2024

Obviously it’s not just Laine. It’s not even just Kirby Dach, on whose health the Canadiens’ fortunes arguably depended to a greater extent before Laine was even acquired, with the latter having flirted with (yet another) serious injury time and time again this season. That goes for David Reinbacher more than anyone, with the defensive player having injured his own knee in the same game as Laine. However, the prognosis was much worse, which again says something important, since 2-3 months equals half a season.

Reinbacher out for the long haul

Reinbacher is out for the entire season, for all intents and purposes. So it hardly needs to be controversial to state the obvious: Reinbacher’s injury hits the Canadiens harder than Laine’s. That assessment may raise some eyebrows, though, as it would have been a long shot for Reinbacher to make the team out of training camp as a not-yet-20-year-old with a lot to learn and a few names above him to his right. side on defense at this point: David Savard, Justin Barron and Logan Mailloux.

For some context, Savard is an unrestricted free agent who likely won’t be traded until the trade deadline. Barron is off waivers, making him a relative shoo-in for a roster spot. And Mailloux, while suffering from similar defensive deficiencies in his play as Barron, is coming off an all-star season in the American Hockey League in 2023-2024.

Related: Canadiens open door for Mailloux to make habits after trading Harris

That being said, Reinbacher was logically destined for the AHL itself in 2024-2025. It doesn’t diminish the hopes the Canadiens clearly have in him, after drafting him fifth overall in 2023 as a potential top stay-at-home player (with some offensive, as-yet-untapped talent). Whether or not you like the team’s decision to draft a defensive back so high and still have some quality forwards available, That doesn’t change the fact that Reinbacher is more of an all-around, complete defender than any of the righties currently above him on the depth chart and might be the perfect complement to someone like Lane Hutson in a hypothetical top pairing of the future.

So the focus shouldn’t be on how Laine’s injury will negatively impact the team’s playoff chances in 2024-2025. It should instead be about how Reinbacher’s injury negatively impacts the team’s future beyond that point, as he will miss a season of development and there are no guarantees he will return unscathed, no matter how cold it may also be to look beyond his overall well-being.

No competition between Laine and Reinbacher

Ultimately, Laine’s acquisition received a lot of buzz this season. However, since he’s expected to hit unrestricted free agency in two summers, it’s not exactly a stretch to see him as a placeholder for the Canadiens’ most recent fifth overall pick, Ivan Demidov, who similarly plays on the wing , just in the Kontinental Hockey League at the moment.

Unless Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle continues to play his offside on the right side and he bucks the trend and thus shows significant developmental growth, there is no one who can replace what everyone envisioned (a healthy) Reinbacher bringing to the table . even in the worst case regarding his final ceiling.

This is obviously not a competition. No one wants Canadiens players to get injured. And this argument will ideally not be taken as a suggestion that Reinbacher’s health means more than Laine’s in a vacuum. It’s more of an argument that there were never any guarantees that Laine would work with the Canadiens, making the trade a low-risk, high-reward situation, mainly based on what they gave up to get him (not much) . However, when you take a leap of faith in drafting Reinbacher, you are arguably taking on much more risk.

Reinbacher injury: a case of terrible luck

Ideally, you would view the preseason as an absolute zero-risk affair. However, everyone knows better, especially now. However, any suggestion that the pre-season calendar should be shortened to limit injuries in so-called nothing games seems to look beyond how everyone needs to tune into the regular season, stars and prospects alike. The play by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Cedric Pare that led to Laine’s injury is being interpreted by many as malicious. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t.

However, no one is suggesting that Marshall Rifai’s play that led to Reinbacher’s injury was in the same stratosphere in terms of intent. No matter which angle you look at it from, it just seemed like dumb, terrible luck, in terms of how Reinbacher landed awkwardly. In other words, it might as well have happened in a regular season game without the minor leaguers supposedly trying to make a name for themselves in the wrong way during their careers. And if that’s the case, there’s really no way to prevent it. It just comes down to one of those things that the Canadiens and their fans need to overcome, but especially Reinbacher.

I hope that Reinbacher eventually recovers and that Laine’s rehabilitation is closer to the two-month mark rather than three. Neither of these two ideal outcomes will realistically lead to the Canadiens making the playoffs next season. However, it is necessary to look beyond that now. The playoffs are irrelevant, at least compared to the careers of the two young players in question. Admittedly, that’s not exactly a hit. It could be misinterpreted, but the statement here, that Reinbacher’s injury has a bigger impact on the organization despite him being less of an impact player, at least at this point, isn’t either. It’s clear to see. But of course that doesn’t make it any less painful.