Montreal Canadiens: Shea Weber’s Greatest Moments With The Habs

Shea Weber’s Fight against J.T Miller

During Shea Weber’s first season for the Montreal Canadiens, the team made the playoffs and lined up against the New York Rangers. Throughout the season we saw what the imposing defenseman could bring, but it wasn’t until game 2 of the first round of the 2017 playoffs that we got to see Shea Weber fully unleashed.

Weber normally plays a very aggressive game, with a very nasty edge to him, however, he very rarely went over the line in his time with the Canadiens. In the 5 years he played in Montreal, he only got in three fights, one against J.T Miller, one against Mikhail Sergachev and one this past season against Brady Tkachuk. For me personally, I very much enjoy the grittier side of hockey, and quite enjoy when a player stands up for his team and drops the gloves.

During a behind the net scrum, J.T Miller began shoving a few Canadiens players, and in true Shea Weber fashion, he was the first man in to grab the perpetrators. While Miller isn’t known as an incredible fighter, he is a sizeable opponent at 6’1″ and 218lbs, and Weber absolutely manhandled the Rangers winger. As a fan, it was incredible to watch as a massive physical presence who stood up for his teammates was lacking from the Canadiens lineup for quite some time.

Combined with the added bonus of having it against the same Rangers team that knocked out the Canadiens in the conference finals in 2014 was simply the icing on top of the cake. Do I wish that the captain had dropped the gloves a few more times in his time playing for the Canadiens?

Of course, because the only thing that got me more excited than a Shea Weber rocket was a Shea Weber fight. However, at 6’4″ and 229lbs, the heat seeking Sicamous native instilled fear into his opponents with a bone crushing hit, or his patented deep stare that would cause even the toughest of NHL players to wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.

Furthermore, an understated impact that Weber had on the Canadiens is the concept that they built their entire defense core around the Shea Weber mold. After the team saw how effective Weber’s playstyle was, the Canadiens’ management quickly began building their defense with players similar to Weber and his style. Adding players like Ben Chiarot, and Joel Edmundson who are both players that are well over 6 feet tall and 200lbs, and play a bruising team first style that is very indicative of the style Weber has been playing for close to fifteen years. Something that is going to benefit the Canadiens for a few more years with Chiarot and Edmundson under contract with the team.