Gorton drops a major hint about a huge talent targeted by the Canadiens, and it confirms the very thoughtful acquisition of the young David Reinbacher

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Elias Edmonson
September 2, 2023 (11:15)

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While things are quiet with the Montreal Canadiens at the moment, while it's the calm before the storm surrounding the start of the 2023 training camp, it's the video released yesterday that's grabbing everyone's attention.

Of course, we're talking about the documentary on the behind-the-scenes of the Montreal Canadiens' 2023 draft.

Today, we're discussing a particular segment, which we believe is probably the most interesting:

In this clip, Jeff Gorton probably gives the biggest hint about how they handled the Matvei Michkov case. We love his input.

From our understanding, while his scouting team seems to be suggesting drafting another talent (probably David Reinbacher or someone else), Gorton reminds them:

«When you draft 5th overall... An organization has very few opportunities to add high-level talent, it's very tough. You can't really do it through the free agent market anymore. You have to overpay for older players.

So, to acquire special talents, you either draft them or get very lucky.

Sometimes, we take risks. It seems this room is telling us: 'no, we don't want to take that chance,' so I want to make sure we're making the right decision.»

- Jeff Gorton

Note that this statement from Jeff Gorton was made 48 hours before the draft! It's reassuring to see that he had the same thought process as all of us. He questioned the decision to ensure his organization wasn't making a big mistake.