‘It’s been a hard year for everyone, obviously, for the whole team’
Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber would probably prefer to block a slapshot with his foot than have to face a media scrum.
On second thought, maybe not, considering Weber suffered a fractured left foot when hit by a shot during the first game of the NHL season on Oct. 5 in Buffalo. The 32-year-old tried to soldier through the injury for as long as possible but, after playing in 26 games, he needed season-ending surgery to repair two tendons that had also been damaged in his foot. He finished the season with 6-10-16 totals and a minus-8 rating while averaging a team-high 25:20 of ice time.
On Tuesday morning, Weber met with the media in Brossard for the first time since having surgery on his foot on March 13, performed by foot and ankle specialist Robert Anderson in Green Bay, Wis. Weber was referred to Anderson after he saw another doctor in Toronto who had been recommended to him by the NHLPA for a second opinion. The doctor in Toronto discovered the tendon damage in an MRI after the Canadiens’ medical staff had earlier done an MRI on Weber’s foot.
Weber, who is normally a man of very few words, answered questions for 14 minutes in the team’s Brossard locker-room Tuesday morning and here’s some of what he had to say:
On how difficult this season has been for him:
“It’s hard. It’s been a hard year for everyone, obviously, for the whole team. It’s been a battle, trying to get through (the injury). But the situation was to take care of it, obviously, and get ready for next year. It’s tough and I’ve really dealt with it, but hopefully I’ll be able to come back stronger and better because of it.”
On how and when the injury occurred:
“I got hit in the first game against Buffalo. I think there was a fracture of some sort. I don’t think we found it right away. The problem ended up being a tendon, so it wasn’t like the fracture was what the surgery was for. Somewhere along the line, the tendon damaged and needed to be repaired and, obviously, that’s what we took care of there a couple of weeks ago.”
Did playing in what turned out to be his final game of the season outdoors on a very cold night — the NHL 100 Classic in Ottawa on Dec. 16 — make the injury worse?
“I don’t know if it made it worse. I think constantly playing on it made it worse. I don’t think just that game put it over the edge. I think that finally made me get to a point where I was like I don’t even know if I can keep going here. We had a couple of days before the (next) game against Vancouver, so I was still planning on playing against Vancouver. I gave it a couple of days’ rest and it didn’t really improve at all.”
What part of his game was most affected while trying to play through the injury?
“Everything. Obviously, you don’t want to deal with it that much. You try and mentally focus on everything else, but ... there’s obviously that issue that you’re dealing with. You try and put it on the side burner, but it affects you all over. It’s something that you use when you’re shooting, when you’re skating. It’s not like it can be hidden. It’s something that you deal with every play and every stride that you make.”
On playing through injuries in general:
“You don’t want to make excuses, obviously. Everybody plays hurt ... everyone’s got issues throughout the year. The last thing you want to do is sit here and be like, well my game is struggling because I’m hurt and this, that and the next thing. There’s reasons why you’re not at the top of your game, so you just kind of put it aside and find a way. I think we’re just kind of taught that way growing up. You play through stuff … a lot of pro sports guys just play through it and try and get the job done.
“I feel like I have a responsibility to my teammates. They go out there every night and they work their butts off for me and I want to do the same for them. I don’t want to let anyone down and I think that’s the biggest thing. Obviously, you want to be here for the fans, but I think the guys in this locker-room are what mean the most to you and the guys you battle for and you want to be here for every night.”
How will the injury affect his summer training and how soon can he get back on the ice?
“Because the surgery was a little bit earlier, I don’t think it will make much of a difference as far as training. I think I’ll be able to go full bore here. Obviously, not for a while. I still can’t walk here yet. (He can’t put weight on the foot for another week and will be in a walking boot for six more weeks.) But once we’re given the green light, we’re going to do some rehab and, obviously, build it up and do as much as we can and be ready to go.”
Is he confident he will be back in time for training camp next season?
“There’s never any assurances, but that’s my plan. Obviously, I’m going to work as hard as I can just like I do every summer. Obviously, there’s a little bit more of something that I got to work through, but that’s something that we’ll be able to do and be back.”
Is he confident the Canadiens can bounce back next season?
“Yeah, we can, of course. We had some big injuries this year. Obviously, our No. 1 guy on the back end (goalie Carey Price) was hurt for a lot. With him, I think it’s possible to win any night. We get him back and a lot of the young guys in here got some experience that maybe they weren’t able to get in other years, and that’s going to help in the long run as well.”