Montreal Canadiens: What if Shea Weber’s injury is longer than ‘a bit’
By Omar L
The Montreal Canadiens will be without Shea Weber for, what Claude Julien said to be a ‘bit,’ but what does the team do if it’s longer than that?
After getting shutout by the Ottawa Senators at the NHL 100 Classic, the Montreal Canadiens will have to continue on this Western Canada road trip without Shea Weber. As upset as the fan base was, there was a large number of people who felt that giving the veteran time off was for the best. The Habs were attempting to give Weber more resting time without taking him out of games, but it’s gotten to the point where that can’t be an option.
Weber is most likely back in Montreal right now and is hopefully getting the R and R he needs. There’s no way to tell how long Weber will be out though. The 32-year-old missed six games not too long ago, and according to Claude Julien, the initial injury didn’t heal as they’d hoped it would.
Come to think of it; Weber also missed the Minnesota Wild game at the beginning of November because of a lower-body injury. If it’s been this same foot injury that’s affected Weber, then we may have a problem on our hands.
The most analyzed line of the day had to have been from Julien. Not necessarily for his initial announcement of Weber’s injury, but how he said it.
Weber being sent back to Montreal. Foot injury not getting better. Julien says they’re going to ‘shut him down for a bit.’ #Habs
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) December 18, 2017
For a Bit
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Well in the grand scheme of things, it could be a bit. Weber is at least missing the next three games (Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton). After Saturday’s game, the Montreal Canadiens will have a three-day break before they take on the Carolina Hurricanes on the following Wednesday.
Weber will probably be reevaluated once the team is back in Montreal, but considering how Julien emphasized that the injury hasn’t improved, they may really take their time with this one. “For a bit,” could’ve originally meant a week or two in the eyes of the fan base, but after those comments, there’s a chance it could be a lot longer.
What Do They Do?
The blueline wasn’t a stronghold for the Habs this season as it is and this makes it worse. Regardless of Weber’s age, he was still the team’s number one defenceman. Now they’ll need to make due with what they have in Jeff Petry, Karl Alzner, Jordie Benn, David Schlemko, Jakub Jerabek, and Joseph Morrow.
Petry proved that he could handle the boost in ice-time, but he can’t be the only defenceman to be given more work. This could be Jerabek’s moment to take this NHL opportunity to the next level. Julien has already been trying to round out his game by giving him a lot of defensive zone starts, but his minutes in other situations could increase as well.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Montreal Canadiens run the blueline for the next few games. I’ve mentioned in a previous post how important this seven-game road trip will be for the outlook of the season. Weber’s injury isn’t a good way to start it.
Next: Freeing Galchenyuk For Offence
Who will stand out for the Montreal Canadiens in Weber’s absence? Will it be just ‘a bit’ or could it be longer? Let us know what you think down below.