Wallinder not being half the player Reinbacher is can be backed up by tons of evidence. It’s a fact.

Consider the post we’re currently commenting on as to why it’s so important lol. It’s the only reason we’re talking about it.

I think the point of the post was amazement about MTL preferring Reinbacher to the package from NSH. Who NSH would have chosen with 5OA if they'd been able to get it is unrelated to that.

Sure, but the two go hand and hand. One is never brought up without the other.

The “amazement” amazes me. I think almost every GM in the league turns down this trade even today. Fans don’t think like GM’s and even coaches. Worlds apart. That’s why most trades leave fans scratching their heads. It’s why fans believe they would do better than most if not all GM’s at the position (and it’s an incredibly common belief). Though obviously not true.

Reinbacher is going to be great and I don’t need reassurance. It’s just fun to discuss, especially when a narrative is so far from reality. We see it all the time, (though with Montreal being involved it catches far more stream). Players get picked a few spots higher than they’re projected all the time. And fans end up being wrong almost every time.

I remember when we first made the pick. People went crazy, then the advanced stats came out showing that Reinbacher is an elite prospect is almost every category, so that narrative quieted. And then this season he battles injury while playing for the worst team in his league and he becomes an easy target but his underlying numbers have actually gotten better.

Like I said I don’t need reassurance. I know what the stats show, what the eyes show, what this mold of player is. What it really comes down to is fans ignorance, I’m sorry but it’s the truth. Fans want flash. They want offense. They wouldn’t know good D if it hit them in the face. That doesn’t matter to most. A “#2 D” is just as, if not more important than a “#1 D”. You need both to win a cup. A “#1” is just about running a power play. That’s what we consider a #1. Someone who plays top minutes and runs a PP. the number 2 needs to be great defensively, play the most mins at 5v5 and run your PK. It’s just as important. And considering a defenseman’s number 1 job is to defend, I’d argue it’s more important.

It seems like you’re trying to convince yourself at this point.

gmgb and I have discussed that already that we’d both rather have Askarov, Wood, and Molendyk than ONE of the guys around pick 5, whoever it would have been.

Case closed. Enjoy Rein, we’ll enjoy our guys.

And Trotz would rather have Reinbacher.

Ovi is an case on himself, when Trotz have coach him he obliged him to be better defensively, make him do is back check to the d zone. Trotz always want good defensive play but he also push for the offensive which in the end have made him one of the better coach in the league.


@Ennis I may be bias as Habs fan but I got the assumption that an elite top 2 pairing defenseman would be more valuable to any team then an top 4 or top 6 player.

From what expert scout have say on Reinbacher was that he was top 2 pair type of guys that have gone under radar due to being in an league with less coverage. From what they say he was kinda like the Sender / Heiskanan type player

If Reinbacher is really an top 2 d-man now is more real that multiple team try to trade for him. An legit top 2 pair is always more harder to acquire then an first line, you can sometimes get one player top line in free market and with some overpayment get him Ex: Panarin

They believe Nashville wanted Michkov or Benson, even knowing Trotz was the one trying to pull the trigger on trading up. Trotz never mentioned a winger, and we know he tried to get pick 5 where all the centres were gone other than Benson, but he wasn’t tying to get Benson, using their logic he could’ve traded up to get Benson at any point after pick 5, but he didn’t. Seems incredibly far fetched but that is what they will continue to believe.

They may not be wrong, Michkov is an incredible talent, he just have attitude problem which suck cause an talent like him is not something you can get every day.

Benson will also be an good one too maybe a bit less bulky

Trotz fired Hynes who was defensively oriented and hired an offensively structured Brunette, and publicly stated he wanted to bring in players who can "get fans out of their seats". He ALSO told his scouts to take swings on players, especially ones with great offensive upside. I don't know about you, but that's not Reinbacher.

Nashville, for years, has been known as a mediocre offensive team with great defense. Trotz wanted to change this culture. You can literally search up his interviews once he was hired to work beside Poile for the remainder of the season, these are all his words.

He tried trading up to pick 4 where he likely would have taken Smith, pick 5 would have been Michkov. The insider reports coming out of Nashville were that he wanted a FORWARD.

Once again, you're just wrong. Rein was never in the plan, nor is he generationally game breaking. I, myself, and lIKELY Trotz wanted one of Smith or Michkov at 4 or 5.

It's also worth noting that Benson would have went much, mUCH closer to top 5 had he have been 5'9. Even then, everyone was shocked when he fell back to Buffalo. I fully believe he is somebody Trotz would have taken a swing on had Smith or Michkov had been gone if he got the trade up.

The consolation was Wood, who is still great talent.

Per a Trotz interview which the Tennessean attended

"Trotz would not be averse to adding an offensive talent such as Adam Fantilli, Matvei Michkov, Will Smith or Leo Carlsson to his roster in exchange for some of that valuable

Trotz: “I was trying like crazy (to entice a team to trade), but if you look at those four franchises up front, they were pretty (adamant on drafting a player) at the center-ice position. I think all four of those got good quality people to build around. I tried like crazy to get them uncomfortable, but obviously it wasn’t enough.

"But now we're looking at getting difference makers up front. I mean, we're Nashville. We're in the entertainment industry, right? We play in a town known for it.

"I've said it publicly: I want our scouts to swing for the fences. I want them to take a chance on players who have the potential to bring fans out of their seats. Sure, you can find third-line players in the first round. That's not what we're looking for."

Habs fans and being wrong go together like white on rice

His logic was that if Trotz wanted Reinbacher he would’ve traded up to get Wallinder (a consolation prize). So using that logic, if he was going to trade up to 5 to get Benson (which he said Trotz may have wanted to do) then he could’ve just traded up a few spots to get Benson considering Benson didn’t get picked until 13th overall. It doesn’t make sense.

The four are Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson and Smith. (Centreman).

"But now we're looking at getting difference makers up front. I mean, we're Nashville. We're in the entertainment industry, right? We play in a town known for it."

Jesus man, I've never seen an outsider fan be so adamant on being wrong. He wanted FORWARDS.

My logic comes directly from Trotz words lmfao.

He specifically said “adamant on getting a centre”. Michkov is not a centre. At 5 when those centres are gone, he would likely go for the next most important position, defense. He wasn’t about to pick a winger who is a liability on defense, only 5’9, a character problem and who won’t be around for 4 years.

Really? Trotz mentioned Benson and or Wallinder? What are you talking about?

Habs fans were in absolute uproar for WEEKS because of how much of a reach Rein was... now half a year later he's suddenly generational talent that EVERY GM was trying to trade for. LMAO

Nashville's been a mushy middle team with mediocre offense and stellar defense for years. Trotz came in with the sole purpose to flip that culture and make us more offensively driven, hence why he wanted to bring in game changers up front. Literally his words.

You genuinely think after trying to trade up to picks 2, 3, 4 and then 5 he'd do so to get Rein? be for real. He was swinging for forwards. LITERALLY his words. the draft interviews are all online. look it up man.

How dare those Preds fans that follow that team choose to believe all the available info on the matter, instead of your gut feeling and hunches.

"But now we're looking at getting difference makers up front"

"I've said it publicly: I want our scouts to swing for the fences. I want them to take a chance on players who have the potential to bring fans out of their seats. Sure, you can find third-line players in the first round. That's not what we're looking for."


Yeah... he would have just changed his whole gameplan and ideology after coming to Nashville for Reinbacher.

Generational talent? No. Best defenseman since Dahlin? Stats say yes.

It's crazy how much Habs fans were in complete disorder because of the Reinbacher pick, now he's suddenly a player that EVERY TEAM WANTED.

Despite the numerous insider reports and literal words from the generla manager on his direction at the draft, my (HABS FAN) hunch tells me he wanted our player, who's now suddenly going to be the next Miro Heiskenan.

Habs fans are like the plague on this site man

You mean the available info that says absolutely nothing about Michkov?

Michkov was literally projected to be the next Kaprizov and the exact "bring people out of their seats" player Trotz wanted, if all the centers were gone he was taking him.