‘The choice was obvious’: defenceman Shea Weber gets the ‘C’ from Habs
BROSSARD, QUE. — On a day when Quebecers headed to the polls to elect their new leaders, there was no vote needed for the Montreal Canadiens to select their new captain.
The decision to give the “C” to all-star defenceman Shea Weber was “unanimous.”
Weber, who underwent offseason knee surgery and isn’t expected back in the lineup until at least December, was named the 30th captain in the National Hockey League team’s history at the Bell Sports Complex on Monday afternoon, with Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher named alternates.
Gallagher was a popular choice among fans to become the next Canadiens captain, but management opted for the two-time Olympic gold medallist instead.
“It really is an honour,” Weber said. “I don’t know if you can put it into words. I don’t know how many times you can say it’s an honour. You look at the guys in our dressing room, guys who have worn this letter in this organization’s history. It’s special.”
General manager Marc Bergevin and head coach Claude Julien discussed Weber as captain following the trade of former leader Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights. It’s a change in style from 2015, when a players vote resulted in Pacioretty becoming captain.
“I think it’s pretty obvious when you look at (Weber) as a person,” Canadiens coach
Claude Julien said. “Players gravitate to him. He’s very open to bringing players to his house for meals, young players that don’t have someone cooking for them.”
Bergevin added that he got the “feel” from the locker-room as well and felt a vote was not necessary to decide a captain this time around. “The choice was obvious,” he said. “The players all feel the same way. We all feel the same way that Shea is the right guy to lead this team. We didn’t want to wait. Training camp is over, season starts on Wednesday. Today was the perfect day to make the announcement.”