The Canadiens shocked many by taking the first defenseman of the 2023 NHL draft and now fans are taking their anger out on the player.
Montreal Fans Harass Reinbacher
David Reinbacher is a highly touted defensive prospect. He is widely considered the best defenseman of the 2023 NHL draft which was part of the reason the Montreal Canadiens took him 5th overall.
However, despite being a great player, Montreal fans are upset because the Canadiens did not take Matvei Michkov. Michkov was the biggest wild card of the draft and eventually fell to 7th where the Flyers picked him up.
It was revealed that Montreal fans have been harassing Reinbacher and he has recieved thousands of messages voicing their disapproval with the pick despite him having nothing to do with Montreal deciding to pick him.
"Multiple Canadiens players have taken notice and have supported Reinbacher. In some instances, Reinbacher has been incomprehensibly compared to Adolf Hitler in messages since he is Austrian-born. It's gotten so bad that management is unlikely to bring him to North America this season to avoid further backlash. Backlash comes from most Canadiens fans disapproval of passing on Matvei Michkov, but David Reinbacher has received the brunt of the anger" - LeBrun
This has led Montreal management considering keeping him in Europe for an extra year despite him being able to make the AHL easily next year. This is a terrible look for Montreal and their fans and will likely deter top talent from going to Montreal in favor of quieter markets.