The Montreal Canadiens and their fans were waiting for an update on Patrik Laine and David Reinbacher after their knee injuries on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The first update dropped on Tuesday afternoon when the Canadiens announced that Reinbacher underwent knee surgery earlier that day. The expected rehabilitation period for Reinbacher is 5 to 6 months, which will put him at a March or April return.
Reinbacher was in North America because his year with Kloten went poorly in Europe last season. The Canadiens plucked him out of Europe after Kloten seemingly ruined a year of his development with some of their moves during the National League season. Montreal hoped he would come this season, spend a year in Laval with the Rocket, and get his development back on track.
The injury guarantees this won't happen in the 2024-24 season. The Canadiens hope Reinbacher's rehabilitation will get him back closer to four months than five, which could give him two months and, hopefully, playoffs to get some game action. Regardless, it isn't an ideal situation for the Habs. It's another wasted season of Reinbacher's development, and the knee injuries are beginning to pile up for the Swiss-born defenseman.
From a Reinbacher perspective, the 2024-25 season won't be fun for the Canadiens. The defenseman was already polarizing in Montreal as the Canadiens passed on Matvei Michkov to take him. The fans have been adamant that it was a poor move, and the early returns of Michkov in the Philadelphia Flyers' training camp show that the fans could be right. If Michkov has a Calder Trophy-caliber season, the hate for Reinbacher will continue.