Canadiens fans have a conflicted relationship with Shea Weber.
Recommended Videos
The former Habs captain was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto on Monday and the event was a veritable reunion for the 2021 team that provided arguably the greatest moment this century for Montreal hockey fans. Former Canadiens teammates on hand Monday included Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Paul Byron, Jake Evans, Joel Armia and Jeff Petry.
On Saturday, the Canadiens will pay tribute to the Man Mountain with a pre-game ceremony prior to the bout with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Most of the coverage around his induction has focused on how loved he was in Montreal and prior to that in Nashville during the 11 seasons he spent with the Predators.
“The fans welcomed me after the trade and made me feel as if I’d been there my whole career,” he said in Toronto, discussing his time in Montreal.
The reality isn’t quite as rosy as that. He was one-half of the most controversial trade made by the Canadiens in recent years, with fan favourite P.K. Subban going to Nashville in return for Weber. That trade, which happened on June 29, 2016, radically divided Canadiens supporters.
Many, including me, thought this was anything but a hockey trade. We thought Subban was driven out of town by a general manager, Marc Bergevin, who just didn’t like the flashy defenceman’s style on and off the ice. Berg was clearly much more comfortable with a dude like Weber, a taciturn old-school player who delivered big hits and bigger slapshots.
Of course, lots of fans ici liked Weber, mostly the same people who bought the story Subban was somehow a cancer in the room. I still maintain The Trade was a mistake and I think the team kind of acknowledged that when they brought Subban back for a big tribute soirée in January 2023.
But in the end, most would probably agree the exchange kind of ended up even-Steven for both teams. Subban in his first season with the Preds was a big part of the reason they made it to game six of the Stanley Cup finals, before falling to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
After Weber joined the Canadiens, they didn’t have much success, but you can’t blame him for the middling team he was on. Then, of course, he was a major force in that nutty 2021 playoff run, with him and Carey Price quite literally carrying a so-so team on their back to make the finals. It effectively ended both of their careers, the long hard run exasperating already-existing injuries.
Was he one of the great Montreal captains? I don’t really think so. First-off, there were plenty of injuries, but also I think the whole ‘there’s a new sheriff in town’ thing was much more myth than reality. They still weren’t a tough team to play against when he was there … and they still aren’t today. That’s just a modern Habs reality.
But it’s also cultural. We liked Subban because he was a Montreal-kind of guy — outgoing, socially conscious, fun, exuberant. Weber, like Price, wasn’t a good cultural fit in our distinct society. Both always gave off the vibe they’d rather be back home hunting and fishing in the woods of their native B.C.
The first guy I ran into at Maison Publique McLean’s on Thursday was most definitely not a Weber fanboy.
“I think he’s a perennial all-star, a very good Canadian defenceman, but if he’s inducted, I think they’re lowering the bar on the Hall of Fame requirements,” said Sukhy Gill. “I think you have to win at least one Cup. He’s never been the best defenceman in the league at any point in his career. I don’t think he’s a Hall of Famer at all. Personally, I don’t think the fans liked Weber that much. Yes, we went to a final with him, but just ’cause he was traded for Subban we didn’t really like him.”
Olivier Williams was also sad to see Subban traded for Weber.
“Weber was more of a quiet leader, but Subban had a louder personality and he electrified the fans,” Williams said. “I’m still heartbroken that Bergevin said he wouldn’t trade Subban and then he traded him. I can’t get past that. I heard a lot of people in the locker room didn’t like him because they thought it was the Subban Show, but I loved the Subban Show.
Opinion was divided when I asked the question on Facebook. Here are some of the responses:
Stewart Dowbiggin: Only one run to the finals since I was a young man and he helped power it. I was and still am a huge PK fan, but can’t argue with that.
Marvin Matthews: I’m still trying to wrap my head around how he got in on his first chance while others have been waiting for years and, in some instances, decades. Hello, Paul Henderson!!!
Stephen Lapointe: Was a great Dman for the Preds, was pretty close to being done when he was traded here, missed a lot of games as a Hab, dragged them into the finals in a year they shouldn’t have been in the playoffs due to pandemic, which was inspirational, but the Hall? Guess you don’t have to win anything anymore to get in.
Keith Brown: Circumstances could have been better, but Weber was a superstar.
Mick O’Grady: I do not understand how come (he) has been inducted into the Hall of Fame. As a member of the CH, I would characterize him as slower than molasses in the spring and contributed to the most boring epoch in Montreal’s hockey history. Subban was way more fun to watch. And I think Montreal should have kept him.
Dee Cee: Got him at the tail end of his career and he was injured a lot — got us to the finals on one leg, which probably inspired Price to play on one leg and Petry with one hand. One of the greatest scoring and power-play dmen ever. At his best, it was fun to look at shot graphs because nobody would go to his side, it was always clean.
Greg Cain: Who?