Weber will miss 5-6 months after undergoing knee surgery

The Montreal Canadiens announced that defenseman Shea Weber will be out for five to six months after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a meniscal tear in his right knee.

Weber missed the final 49 games of the 2018 season with a foot injury. He eventually underwent surgery on his left foot and that was going to keep him out until mid-September. Following consultation with an orthopaedic knee surgeon, it was determined that he required surgery. The procedure was performed on June 19, but the Canadiens did not release the information until this afternoon.

Due to the complexity of the situation from a medical standpoint, and to avoid any distractions, it has been decided in the best interest of the Canadiens’ organization, to proceed with this announcement following the NHL Draft and the free-agency period.

Bizarre.

The Canadiens also announced that the surgery could not be performed earlier due to his recovery from the March foot surgery. As a result, Weber is expected to be out until mid-December—roughly the first 35 games of the regular season.

The Trade

Trading P.K. Subban for Weber is not looking great for Montreal right now. Since the trade, Subban is tied for seventh among defensemen in goals (26), eighth in power-play points (41), tied for 11th in points (99) and tied for 17th in assists (73). Weber on the other hand, is tied for 17th in goals (23), tied for 28th in PPP (27), 52nd in points (58) and tied in 69th in assists (35).

To make matters worse, the 32-year-old defenseman has eight-seasons left on a contract that carries a $7.857M cap-hit. Subban, who is four years younger, has just four years remaining with a $9.0M cap-hit. Eight years remaining on a defenseman who underwent surgery on his left foot and right knee in a span of three months…not ideal.