The Montreal Canadiens could get some bodies back as Claude Julien said both Shea Weber and Paul Byron might return for Tuesday’s game.
The narrative on Shea Weber‘s injury has been up and down. When the Montreal Canadiens captain initially went down, the talk was that his season was over and his future could be in jeopardy. After seeing a specialist, the team announced that Weber would miss 4-6 weeks dealing with the injury that was confirmed to be his ankle.
That was five days ago. Weber took fans and media by surprise, being an active participant in practice this morning, and now we have another bombshell to discuss. According to Claude Julien, it’ll be up to Shea Weber whether he plays Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings.
Claude Julien affirme que Shea Weber et Paul Byron pourraient être dans la formation pour le match de demain soir.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 17, 2020
Claude Julien says that Shea Weber and Paul Byron could be in the lineup for tomorrow's game.#GoHabsGo
So how did we go from out long term to out for not even a week after being diagnosed? Elliotte Friedman dropped hints on the speedy recovery Saturday night on NHL headlines saying the injury wasn’t as bad as many people think. That said, it is still curious to see the possibility of Weber returning as early as tomorrow being discussed in such confidence.
Another possible returnee for the Montreal Canadiens is Paul Byron. The 30-year-old has been out of the lineup since November and went through some delays in his progression to recovery. However, the knee seems to be fine for Byron, and he could be another option for the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
The return of Weber and Byron will likely mean the end of Jake Evans and Xavier Ouellet with the Habs as the team will need room to take them off of the injured reserve. Evans scored his first NHL goal with the Habs against the Arizona Coyotes while Ouellet managed an assist in his six-game stint with Montreal.
There are still a lot of questions behind Weber’s quick return to the lineup, and the team should have those answers soon. Having the Montreal Canadiens captain back is a boost, but hopefully, he is relatively healthy and not being rushed. The Habs aren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, but the distance between playoff teams is significant.