Former general manager Marc Bergevin announced before the start of the season that Weber was unlikely to play all year and that his career was probably over because of injuries. Bergevin added that the Canadiens would not name an interim captain in Weber’s absence.
Weber was hardly ever around the team this season and never spoke with the media when he was. There was some criticism when Weber didn’t show up for the home opener at the Bell Centre after helping the Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup final last season. There was more criticism when Weber didn’t show up last Sunday for the first game at the Bell Centre following the death of Canadiens legend Guy Lafleur.
Weber did show up for the final game of the regular season Friday night — when the Canadiens beat the Florida Panthers 10-2 — for a pre-game ceremony honouring longtime equipment manager Pierre Gervais, who is retiring. Weber, the last captain during Gervais’s 35 years with the team, was joined at centre ice by Bob Gainey, Gervais’s first captain.
