The Nashville Predators have made a monstrous offer for a specific player from the Montreal Canadiens

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Julien Trekker
July 19, 2023 (8:38)

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A few hours before the start of the draft, Pierre LeBrun revealed significant information regarding the Montreal Canadiens' 5th overall pick. According to his sources, the Nashville Predators had made a monstrous offer involving Yaroslav Askarov, the 15th overall pick (and possibly the 24th overall pick) to acquire the Canadiens' first-round pick.

"To the Canadiens:

Yaroslav Askarov
The 15th overall pick (Matthew Wood)
Possibly the 24th overall pick (Tanner Molendyk)
To the Predators:

The 5th overall pick (David Reinbacher)"

At the time, many believed that Barry Trotz was attempting to complete this transaction in order to secure the young Russian prodigy Matvei Michkov. However, according to information shared by Nicolas Cloutier from TVA Sports, the Predators were aiming to move up to draft none other than David Reinbacher.

"It was for David Reinbacher that the Predators wanted to move up."

Wow! It is highly encouraging to see that an NHL team was willing to sacrifice one of the top goaltending prospects and two first-round picks to acquire the young defenseman. If many fans doubted the selection made by the Canadiens' management, there seemed to be a clear consensus among NHL general managers.

Nicolas Cloutier further stated that several teams within the top 10 were interested in selecting the Canadiens' defenseman. Knowing that Reinbacher would not be available later in the draft, it is now clear why Kent Hughes was unwilling to trade the 5th overall pick to move back a few spots. One thing is certain, the 18-year-old defenseman was highly coveted on June 28th.

"The Arizona Coyotes selected Dmitry Simashev at the sixth spot, but their guy was David Reinbacher, confirmed the source who preferred to remain anonymous. Then, the Flyers picked Russian Matvei Michkov at the seventh spot. I can't tell you if they preferred Reinbacher over him, but I know the Flyers really liked Reinbacher.

At the eighth spot, the Washington Capitals turned to American forward Ryan Leonard. As was the case with the Coyotes, apparently, it wasn't Plan A.

An employee from the Caps told me: we would take Reinbacher."

Although the Canadiens had the opportunity to add a goaltender with enormous potential in Yaroslav Askarov and two excellent prospects at the 15th and 24th spots, the fact that so many teams wanted to draft David Reinbacher demonstrates how promising his future is and how much value he holds in the market.

This statement proves that the Canadiens' management may have made a much more informed choice than some fans think.

If you had been in Kent Hughes' position on June 28th, would you have traded the 5th overall pick for Yaroslav Askarov and the 15th and 24th overall picks?