Injury confirmed: Montreal defenceman status is a major concern
David Reinbacher didn't return for the third period of Laval's game, and the Canadiens prospect's absence has Montreal scouts watching closely tonight.
Andrée-Anne Barbeau of RDS reported the development from the rink. He'd been seen sparingly in the second period before staying on the bench, then disappeared entirely after the intermission.
For Habs fans, the alarm bells are familiar. Reinbacher's path to the NHL has been interrupted before, and any time he leaves a game early, the conversation restarts.
The 21-year-old Austrian defenceman appeared in just 2 NHL games for Montreal this season. Zero goals, one assist, zero plus-minus. A cup of coffee, nothing more.
He carries a $918,333 cap hit on his entry-level deal. Drafted fifth overall in 2023, he was supposed to be further along by now.
The depth chart in Brossard is the real story. Kent Hughes built a defence corps that didn't need to rush him, but it also didn't leave him room to breathe and learn at the NHL level either.
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Martin St-Louis still waiting on his top-five pick to arrive
Martin St-Louis hasn't had Reinbacher available as a regular option this season.
The bench boss has been working with what's healthy, and the prospect has been in Laval almost the entire year.
Whether tonight's exit is precautionary or something more serious is unclear from the early reporting. The team will speak post-game.
Reinbacher's body of work in the AHL is the foundation Montreal needs him to keep building.
Games missed at this stage of his development cost more than statistics suggest.
The Canadiens have made him a centerpiece of the rebuild.
Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, and the young Austrian. That's the spine of the next era.
Reinbacher's draft slot doesn't expire. The patience around him does.
Every time he leaves a game early, the timeline gets tighter and the questions get louder.
A clean medical update changes everything. A bad one changes the offseason plan. Right now, Habs fans are stuck refreshing for either.
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MAY 5, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nathan MacKinnon | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Gabriel Landeskog | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Martin Necas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brett Kulak | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Marcus Johansson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Kirill Kaprizov | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Valeri Nichushkin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nicolas Roy | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Ross Colton | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan Hartman | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Daemon Hunt | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nazem Kadri | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brock Nelson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Danila Yurov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mats Zuccarello | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Blankenburg | - | - | - | |
| Matthew Boldy | - | - | - | |
| Brent Burns | - | - | - | |
| Jack Drury | - | - | - | |
| Brock Faber | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||