What the Puck: Weber’s State Another Dark Cloud Over Canadiens

Article content

Controversy over general manager Marc Bergevin’s contract status isn’t the only thing causing a distraction for the stumbling Montreal Canadiens. Perhaps even more distracting is the strange situation with Shea Weber.

Article content

The team captain has not retired. At least not officially. Bergevin said in July that there is a good chance Weber’s career will end because of the multiple injuries he is dealing with. At the time, the general manager said that Man Mountain would not play for the Habs this season.

The strange thing is that since that day there has been radio silence from Weber. He has not spoken to the media about whether he is retired or planning to retire. That’s weird with bursts up downright weird.

Then last week, Bergevin raised more questions than he answered when he said he had a plan for Weber, but would not share it. At the same time, he said it is highly unlikely that Weber will play for the Canadiens again.

“I think it’s a long shot,” Bergevin said. “You never know, but I’d say it’s a long shot.”

Article content

So he will probably never play again, is there a secret plan that Bergevin can’t tell us and yet he’s not retired?

This unusual story took another dramatic turn on Tuesday, when Jonathan Drouin mentioned in passing to media crowds that Weber had retired. He was talking about Weber because the team captain was in the arena on Tuesday.

Article content

“He had a great career. For me, he was one of the best defenders in the NHL, so having to stop like that, after being in the Stanley Cup final, sure is difficult for any individual, “Drouin said during an interview in Seattle before the Stanley Cup final. humiliating 5-1 loss to expansion Seattle Kraken. “If they tell you that you can’t play hockey, you are sure to be disappointed. He’s exploring with Marc. Now he’s doing other things. He’s basically retired. Everybody knows it now. He will not play with us again. Then you move on to other things. For him, hockey is over. “

Article content

After his comments, Habs head of public relations Paul Wilson said Weber has not signed his retirement papers.

So why all the mystery? I don’t know the answer, but I know there is a lot of money involved.

Weber is receiving a salary of $ 6 million this season and if he retires, he does not receive that amount. He also loses all the remaining money on the 14-year, $ 110 million contract he signed with the Nashville Predators in 2012. Note that the only reason Preds general manager David Poile signed that expensive deal is because the Philadelphia Flyers made a hostile deal. Offer for the captain of the Predators, and since Poile wanted to stay with Weber, he had to match the offer.

The deal runs through the end of the 2025-26 season and includes another $ 6 million in total salary if he doesn’t retire before the contract ends.

Article content

The team that will lose the most if Weber retires is Nashville. There’s a ton of complicated math behind all of this, but puckpedia.com reported last summer that if Weber had retired then, the Predators would be on the hook for $ 4.9 million for each of the remaining five years, while the Habs just would have. pay $ 543,000 for each of the remaining five years.

This is another dark cloud over the organization. Bergevin has decided not to appoint a captain given that Weber has not officially retired and it is clear that a lack of leadership is one of the reasons this team is failing so badly this season and one of the factors that has contributed to their pathetic start of 1-6. .

After the first game of the season at the Bell Center, another loss, one of the big talking points was the fact that the captain wasn’t there. Why hadn’t he made the trip to Montreal? Is it because you wanted to avoid questions about your retirement and your future?

Why not be open and transparent about this whole situation? Sadly, I’m afraid that’s a question I know the answer to.

[email protected]

twitter.com/brendanshowbiz