Montreal Canadiens: The Many Options To (Try To) Replace Shea Weber

The Montreal Canadiens made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final this season.

A couple of their key veteran players, Shea Weber and Carey Price, were often written off by fans and many thought the pair were too old and washed up to ever earn their large contracts.

Both players showed this spring that they had enough left in the tank to take the Canadiens on a long playoff run.

Unfortunately, it took a huge toll. It was announced earlier this week that Weber is battling several injuries and is likely going to miss the entire 2021-22 season. It is possible he could miss much more than just next season and that the run to the 2021 Stanley Cup Final could have been his last chance to win a Stanley Cup in his career.

That leaves Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin with the tough task of replacing his team’s captain.

There is no way Bergevin is just going to go out and find a better player and leader than Weber. He battled through everything he could and played terrific hockey in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Canadiens. Trying to find a suitable replacement will be impossible.

However, there are several options out there to try and at least replace what Weber did on the ice. He was a key contributor at even strength, while shorthanded and though his role on the power play was slightly diminished, he still had that laser of a slap shot that scared the life out of goaltenders.

If Weber goes on long term injured reserve, the Canadiens have almost $8 million in additional cap space for the upcoming season. Their highest priority has become finding someone who can play a top four role on the blue line, ideally on a pairing with Ben Chiarot.

Let’s take a look at the Canadiens various methods of acquiring this replacement and what options they have available.

Intriguing options that were recently bought out

Most years, we see a few players bought out of their contracts shortly before free agency begins. This year, we see a few more than usual because of the upcoming expansion draft. A few players who might not be worthy of their previous contracts and had no movement clauses needed to be bought out so they wouldn’t have to be protected for the expansion draft.

Ryan Suter

When he was initially bought out, there was quite a bit of chatter about reuniting Ryan Suter with Shea Weber. The two were drafted the same year by the Nashville Predators and both made their NHL debuts in 2005-06. They quickly became NHL stars and formed one of the best defensive pairing in the world for several years.

Super eventually left Nashville and signed a monstrous 13 year contract with the Minnesota Wild in 2012. He was bought out of the final four years of the contract and hits free agency for the first time in nine seasons.

Though there will be no reunion of partners, Suter could step in and replace Weber as well as anyone on the market. He still plays a ton of minutes against top competition and would be able to help out a little more with moving the puck up ice. He wouldn’t put the same fear into the opposition as Weber, but he could eat up minutes on a pairing with Ben Chiarot.

Keith Yandle

Yandle is not the same type of player as Weber at all. While he doesn’t get pushed around on the ice, he is more known for his offensive abilities and not shutdown presence on the ice. The 34 year old is a left shot and would need to be paired with a defensive guy, so that would likely force Chiarot to play his off side and take care of the defensive side of things.

Canadiens forwards would love playing with Yandle as he can move the puck up ice and join the rush to create offence. The problem is, the Canadiens forwards already liked playing against him when he was a member of the Florida Panthers, because he gave up so much defensively.

Tony DeAngelo

There were rumours around the trade deadline that the Canadiens were looking to add Tony DeAngelo from the New York Rangers. Well, technically from the Rangers, as it was rumoured his contract was going to be torn up after he got into a fight with a teammate following a game earlier in the season.

That never happened but it sounds like DeAngelo’s time with the Rangers is up and he will be bought out.

The 25 year old only played six games this season before they removed him from the team, but he was fourth in points among defenders in 2019-20 with 53. That’s an element that the Canadiens could use on their blue line.

Free Agents

The more traditional route of trying to fill a void on a team is through free agency. Though many teams have been bitten in the past by signing players past their prime to long term contracts, the Canadiens have added key pieces in Tyler Toffoli and Corey Perry last offseason via free agency and could look to use the same method again.

Dougie Hamilton

The biggest fish on the market, both literally and figuratively, is Dougie Hamilton. The 6’6″ and 229 pound right shot defender would fill the void of Weber by playing top pairing minutes on the right side, but he lacks the physicality and fearfulness that Weber brings.

What Hamilton lacks in aggressiveness, he more than makes up for with offensive upside. He has scored 40 points or more in six of the past seven seasons, and the year he didn’t reach 40 he had 39.

The 28 year old has played the past three seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes and in that time no defenceman has scored more goals than Hamilton’s 42. Hamilton will likely get the biggest contract of any free agent this summer, but the Canadiens have the cap space with Weber out for the season.

Adam Larsson

If Hamilton chooses to play elsewhere, the Canadiens could turn to Adam Larsson. Within minutes of Weber being traded to the Canadiens for P.K. Subban back in 2016, Larsson was traded from the New Jersey Devils to the Edmonton Oilers for Taylor Hall. Two massive deals within minutes of one another.

Now, with Weber out, the Canadiens could use Larsson’s services. Fortunately, they won’t have to give up a player of Taylor Hall’s caliber to make it happen. Larsson is a defence first right shot defender and would slide in to play a second pairing role and shut things down defensively. It wouldn’t be the most fun signing of all time, but he would come at a more reasonable price than some of the other top free agents.

Alec Martinez

Alex Martinez was excellent in the third round series for the Vegas Golden Knights against the Montreal Canadiens. He was one-third of a three headed defensive monster alongside Shea Theodore and Alex Petrangelo all season.

Martinez averaged 22:33 per game this season on one of the best teams in the NHL. He can play both sides of the ice extremely well and is versatile enough to play his off side. He adds more offence than most Habs blue liners, scoring 40 points in 63 games with Vegas over the past two seasons.

He will be 34 years old by the time free agency begins, so there is risk, but Bergevin is wise enough not to give six year contracts to players of that age.