The Montreal Canadiens announced Monday that they have named Shea Weber as the team’s 30th captain in franchise history. The decision came from team management rather than a team vote which was used to select Max Pacioretty as team captain in 2015. Weber served as the team’s alternate captain the past two seasons for the Canadiens. Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron will serve as the team’s alternate captains this year.
Shea Weber becomes the 30th captain in Canadiens history.
Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher will serve as alternate captains.
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— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) October 1, 2018
Shea Weber Named Team Captain of the Canadiens
The native of Sicamous, British Columbia is about to start his 14th season in the NHL. Over that time he has scored 189 goals and added 312 assists for 501 points in 867 games. He also has 31 points in 65 playoff games. He is the first defenceman to dawn the C for the Canadiens since Chris Chelios was named co-captain with Guy Carbonneau back in the 1989-90 season.
Shea Weber came over to the Canadiens in a trade which sent star defenceman P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators. In his time with Montreal, he has scored 23 goals and added 35 assists for 58 points in 104 games. Weber missed all but 26 games last season and is out until mid-December after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee.
The Best Man for the Job
The Habs couldn’t have chosen a better player to lead their team. Weber served as team captain of the Nashville Predators from the 2010-11 season until he was traded to the Canadiens in the summer of 2016. In the 2015-16 season, Weber was the recipient of the Mark Messier leadership award which is given to the player who shows superior leadership in their sport as well as a contributor to their community. Weber also served as Team Canada’s alternate captain at the Winter Olympics in 2014, as well as the World Cup of Hockey in 2016 where he helped lead Canada to Gold on both occasions.
Having one of the youngest teams in the NHL, Weber will be relied upon to help guide the young players as they begin their careers. Most notably Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen, as they begin to play their first full seasons in the NHL (Mete played 49 games last season and Juulsen played 23). The two youngsters couldn’t possibly get a better role model on the point and should benefit massively from having the elite defender showing them the ropes for the next eight years.
The Canadiens will be without Weber as they open their season on Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, Weber will surely be providing his leadership in the dressing room as the team looks to bounce back from a disastrous 2017-18 season.
Main Photo: PHILADELPHIA, PA – FEBRUARY 02: Shea Weber #6 of the Montreal Canadiens skates against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center on February 2, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Flyers defeated the Canadiens 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
