The Montreal Canadiens are not going to name an interim captain during Shea Weber’s absence this upcoming NHL season.
Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin addressed the media Monday after declining to match the Carolina Hurricanes’ $6.1 million offer sheet for Jesperi Kotkaniemi and acquiring Christian Dvorak from the Arizona Coyotes for two draft picks over the weekend.
When asked about the possibility of naming an interim captain as the team awaits additional news on Weber’s status, Bergevin simply responded, “No.”
Ankle, foot, knee and thumb injuries will keep Weber out of action indefinitely.
The 36-year-old defenceman from Sicamous, B.C., may have even played his final NHL game as Bergevin said during a press conference in July that Weber “won’t be back next season, and probably won’t be back for his career.”
Weber had six goals and 13 assists in 48 regular season games plus one goal and five assists in 22 playoff games this past season as the Habs made a miraculous run to the final for the first time since winning their record-extending 24th Stanley Cup in 1993. Montreal fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games.
The Canadiens acquired Weber from the Nashville Predators on June 29, 2016, in a one-for-one blockbuster trade for fellow star defenceman P.K. Subban. Montreal named Weber captain two years later.
Weber, who also won Olympic gold for Canada in 2010 and 2014, has registered 224 goals and 365 assists in 1,038 career regular season games over 16 seasons with Montreal and Nashville. He has five seasons left on a 14-year contract he signed with the Predators in 2012 — matching an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers — with an average annual value of $7,857,143.
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