Habs News: Montreal Canadiens, Carey Price, Shea Weber, Marc Bergevin, NHL, Entry Draft,  Trevor Timmins, Christian Dvorak, Kelly Buchberger

ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA | MONTREAL, QC. — After several agonizing days for Habs fans, the Seattle Expansion Draft is finally here. While the Kraken may not select the preferred player, at the very least, fans will have an answer. That said, depending on the player chosen, the emotional pain may continue for quite some time.

Career likely over?

Shea Weber will not play for the Montreal Canadiens next season and continuing his future as an NHL defenceman is doubtful.

In his media availability on Thursday, general manager Marc Bergevin said that Weber is dealing with multiple injuries, including his ankle, knee and thumb.

“He suffered many different injuries over the last few years, including injuries to his ankle, knee and thumb. He’s in a lot of pain. It even takes him a long time to prepare for practice. Shea isn’t someone who complains. Missing practice isn’t an option for him. He has a lot of miles on his body and he really pushed himself to the limit. There’s no chance he’ll play next season, and his career is probably over.” — Marc Bergevin

The 35-year-old captain of the Canadiens played through the pain of his injuries, and played exceptionally for 22 games of the Stanley Cup playoffs averaging ice time of 25:13 per game.

“We had an emotional, deep conversation. I have a lot of respect for Shea and for what he’s done for the Montreal Canadiens throughout his career. It will be impossible to replace Shea Weber in terms of what he brings to our team on and off the ice. We’ll try our best, but I know deep down that you can never replace Shea Weber.” — Marc Bergevin

No ruling on LTIR

The NHL has not ruled on long-term injured reserve status for Shea Weber‘s injuries and likely won’t until September. Elliotte Friedman reported that the league will await the results of Weber’s physical at this Fall’s training camp.

Weber has five years remaining on his contract at an annual salary of $7,857,143. Marc Bergevin is expecting to receive LTIR salary cap relief which will allow the Canadiens GM shop for a defenceman this off-season.

An appointment for Price

Carey Price travelled to New York on Thursday to see a specialist regarding injuries to his hip and knee. Marc Bergevin said that Price’s injuries were normal for a player with his workload and termed them “nothing alarming.”

Without the benefit of a medical report, Bergevin speculated that a 6-8 week recovery period could be necessary if Price required surgery. Bergevin added that there is a “small percentage it could be longer.”

Drouin likely to return

Marc Bergevin said that he and Dominique Ducharme met with Jonathan Drouin earlier this week. Bergevin said that Drouin is focused and ready to go. The team expects him to report for the first day of training camp.

Drouin took an indefinite leave of absence from the team for personal reasons on April 28th. The 26-year-old winger scored twice for the Canadiens in 44 games in the 2020-21 season.

Timmins eager to add to prospect pool

Canadiens assistant general manager Trevor Timmins will be looking to “hit some home runs throughout the entire Draft,” as the annual NHL Entry Draft takes place on Friday and Saturday. Timmins said that the priority is “to do our best to try to get as many NHL players as we can in this Draft.”

The Canadiens making it to the Stanley Cup Final has had consequences for Timmins and his staff. “We dropped from possibly picking 16th overall to 30th in the first round. We also went from the middle of each round to the end of each round, which makes a big difference because you’re almost picking into the following round,” said Timmins.

The Canadiens have 11 picks in the Draft including five selections in the first 90.

Buchberger joins Laval

The Laval Rocket announced on Thursday that the team has agreed to terms on a three-year contract with Kelly Buchberger to serve as one of the assistants to new head coach Jean-François Houle.#GoRocket pic.twitter.com/joxv26McVd

— Rocket de Laval (@RocketLaval) July 22, 2021

Habs interested in Dvorak

In continuing to sweep the league to unearth forwards to help their offence the Canadiens have shown interest in Arizona Coyotes center Christian Dvorak. The 25-year-old is approaching the third year of a six-year contract worth $4.45 million per season.

Dvorak recorded 17 goals, 14 assists for 31 points in 56 games in the 2020-21 season.

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