Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin was not a popular man in Montreal three summers ago when he traded P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Shea Weber.
A lot of Canadiens fans were upset and there was plenty of criticism about the trade, including from me. Subban is four years younger and had won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenceman during the 2012-13 season, while Weber’s massive 14-year, US$110-million contract with an annual salary-cap hit of $7.857 million runs through the 2025-26 season.
The Predators went to the Stanley Cup final during their first season with Subban, which only flamed the fire over the trade. But now, with a healthy Weber playing his best hockey since joining the Canadiens and the Predators trading Subban to the New Jersey Devils this summer in exchange for prospects and draft picks, you rarely hear people talking about that blockbuster trade any more.
Bergevin met with the media for one of the few times during the season after practice Wednesday in Brossard and it seemed like a good time to ask if he feels vindicated about the trade.
“I made the trade because I believed it was the right move to make for our organization from Day 1,” Bergevin said. “Once a player is moved — when P.K. was traded to Nashville at the time — I wish the player the best and I move on. So if our fans or some people feel that now it’s been vindicated, it’s fine. But for me, it was move on that day.”
Two seasons ago, Weber fractured his left foot in the first game of the year and was shut down after playing only 26 games. Surgery to repair tendons in that foot, followed by a second surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee forced Weber to miss the first 24 games last season.
The Canadiens finally have a healthy Weber this season and he has been a dominant force, with 5-9-14 totals in 18 games and a plus-3 while averaging 23:00 of ice time per game. After skipping practice Monday and not taking part in Tuesday’s morning skate while battling a virus, Weber logged 23:36 of ice time in Tuesday night’s 3-2 shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Bell Centre, with three shots, three hits, three blocked shots, an assist and a plus-2.
Weber, 34, skipped practice again Wednesday for a therapy day. The Canadiens captain will be 40 when his contract expires, but Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara is showing this season that a big, physical defenceman with a booming shot can still be very effective at age 42.
“That’s kind of what he’s all about,” Brendan Gallagher said about Weber’s performance Tuesday night. “It’s what he’s been about his whole career. I don’t think there’s any real question about that. He’s just a guy that when you talk about leadership he really embodies all those qualities and some of that we definitely lean on.”
The mistake Bergevin made after the blockbuster trade was not immediately making Weber the captain, taking the heavy weight of wearing the “C” off Max Pacioretty’s left shoulder and allowing him to simply focus on scoring goals. But that’s in the past and the Canadiens are looking pretty good now with a 10-5-3 record, which has them in second place in the Atlantic Division after Tuesday night’s win. The Predators have a 9-6-3 record, while the Devils are 5-8-4. Subban has 2-3-5 totals and is minus-5 while averaging 23:55 of ice time.
The Canadiens will visit the Washington Capitals Friday, before facing the Devils and Subban Saturday night at the Bell Centre.
One of the most impressive things about this Canadiens team is its unwillingness to give up and that was on display again Tuesday night when they fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, getting the tying goal from Tomas Tatar with only 41 seconds left in the third period before Jonathan Drouin scored the shootout winner.
Where does that never-give-up attitude come from?
“Coaching had a lot to do with it,” Bergevin said. “But the players themselves, I think the leadership in that room, they believe that they can win any night. And that’s how the league is today, too. I know we make a lot of it on our team, but you look around the league. Last night, for example, Boston’s up 4-0 and they end up losing in a shootout 5-4 against Florida.
“That’s the league today,” Bergevin added. “There’s never a safe lead and I think our players bought into that, that anything’s possible. And it could go the other way, too. You could be up by two goals in the third and lose a hockey game. I hope it doesn’t happen, but over 82 (games) it might happen. You just got to park it and move on.”
Just like the Canadiens have moved on from that blockbuster trade.
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