The Montreal Canadiens have already confirmed during the offseason that their captain Shea Weber won’t return to the ice in the 2021-22 NHL season due to a number of injuries he is dealing with. But it now seems that Weber’s health status is even worse than it was originally believed.
Speaking with reporters earlier this week, the Canadiens general manager confirmed that Weber’s future as a professional hockey player is in doubt and said it is a “long shot” that the 36-year-old resumes his career in NHL.
“I think it’s a long shot,” Bergevin said. “You never know, but I would say it’s a long shot.”
Weber is reportedly dealing with lingering foot, ankle, thumb, and knee injuries that accumulated over the years. The veteran defenseman managed to play while hurt last season, helping the Canadiens to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but that apparently came at a great cost.
Without Weber in their lineup, the Canadiens look nothing like the team that was close to winning it all just several months ago. Montreal lost all of their first four games of the 2021-22 season and conceded 15 goals compared to just three scored.
Shea Weber joined the Canadiens ahead of the 2016-17 season after spending the first 11 years of his career with the Nashville panthers. Webber, who collected seven All-Star nods while in the league, has 1,038 career NHL regular-season games in which he scored 224 goals and dished 365 assists.
