Absent for the tribute to Guy Lafleur during the visit of the Boston Bruins on Sunday at the Bell Centre, Shea Weber will deign to present himself in the environment of the Canadian.
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Weber will meet with team doctors Saturday in Brossard for a medical checkup. Still captain of CH, the 36-year-old defender has still not met with reporters since the setback in five games in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Unofficially retired, but still on the Habs’ books, Weber likely dreads questions about this nebulous situation.
In the event of a traditional retirement, he would put the Nashville Predators in a difficult position since they would absorb the largest portion of his contract on the salary cap.
He could break the silence at a press conference Friday before the last game of the season against the Florida Panthers at the Bell Center. Chantal Machabée will once again try to convince him to participate in a media exercise.
In March, the mountain man had visited his teammates in Vancouver, but he had shunned the journalists. He had done the same thing, in October, in Seattle. Moreover, it was on this occasion that Jonathan Drouin let slip that the career of his captain was over.
The CH has not yet released Weber’s plans for Lafleur’s funeral, whether or not he will be there Tuesday in Montreal.
An NHL goaltender
Samuel Montembeault will get another start against Rangers tonight at Madison Square Garden.
Before leaving for Manhattan on Tuesday, the 25-year-old goalkeeper made a sort of assessment before time.
“It was my first full year in the NHL. I played several matches. I did not expect that. I still had a good season. I made good progress during the season. »
“I have to improve my consistency,” he continued. I did my job pretty well in a number two role. When Jake [Allen] got injured, I had some good games. But I ended up having a start that hurt my stats. I will have to improve my consistency. »
In 37 games, the former Panthers went 7-18-6 with a 3.79 GAA and .892 save percentage. But these statistics are not a good indicator of his season.
“Yeah, he’s shown he can play in the NHL,” coach Martin St-Louis said. I think he increased his value as a goalkeeper. He took his chance. It wasn’t always easy, but he kept fighting. I tip my hat to him. »
No negotiations
On August 1, Montembeault signed a one-year, two-part contract with the Panthers. The CH claimed him on waivers on October 2. He still hasn’t spoken about his future with GM Kent Hughes.
” I have no idea. My agent told me that we would talk about it at the end of the season. I would like to stay in Montreal. We’ll see what will happen. I imagine there will be negotiations at the end of the year. But I’m still a restricted free agent. The Canadian can keep my rights. »