Before being added to the Montreal Canadiens’ ring of honor, former captain Shea Weber was made available to the media and fielded some questions. Retired in all but name, the hulking defenseman is enjoying coaching kids in BC right now and says he still has a couple of years left to figure out what his next challenge will be.
About his arrival with the Canadiens, he explained that he didn’t get to Montreal wanting to be the captain, on the contrary he spoke to Max Pacioretty and told him “You’re the captain, I’ll do whatever you need to help you.”
On the myriad of injuries that he battled in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, he mentioned the last thing he wants is people feeling sorry for him and that’s why he hadn’t revealed any of that previously.
In hindsight, he mentioned that taking a few weeks off when he first injured his ankle would probably have been the smart thing to do, but refused to say that his career would have been longer if he had done so. Furthermore, he says he was lucky to play for as long as he did, adding that not that many players get to play over 1,000 games in the NHL.
Related: Former Canadiens Captain Induction Podcast
Even though he’s not in the Montreal Canadiens’ organization anymore, he still keeps in touch with current captain Nick Suzuki. On Friday night, he went out to dinner with him and Josh Anderson. He explained he told Suzuki he was always there if he needed to talk, he doesn’t want him to feel like he has to call, but the option is there if he needs it.
Weber admitted that as a captain, he didn’t start calling guys out right away as he had much older players on his team, but Barry Trotz helped him realize that he could, that his teammates respected him, something he’s been telling Suzuki as well.
Finally, he was clearly moved by the fact Geoff Molson ensured his former teammates were in Toronto for his induction into the HHOF, and for the fact even Jeff Petry and Ben Chiarot showed up from Detroit for it. “They still like me enough to drive a couple of hours for me”.
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