Former Hab Dale Weise with strong words for those who think the team won't miss Shea Weber

Defenceman Shea Weber has been a locker room leader since entering the NHL in 2006. He's a player who demands the best from himself and others. With Weber out for all of next season, and possibly never returning to the NHL again, many have stated the 35-year-old had slowed down too much over the years to have any major impact on the team. Dale Weise, who played for Montreal while Weber was captain, says that just simply isn't true.

"Shea took over a team that was really suffering from a lack of leadership in 2016-2017," said Weise. "We had a very good team in 2014-2015, but clearly lacked a Shea Weber to take control and establish his leadership. I'm a big believer in culture, I'm a big believer in culture. I don't care what Shea Weber is currently doing on the ice. I've been in the locker room with him, I've seen what he does off the ice, it's made the locker room very responsible. No one is going to try to be bigger than the team if you have Shea Weber in the dressing room. I use the Flyers as an example, where there was no coaching on that team, no coaches, no group of leaders. If there had been a Shea Weber, a situation like that would never have happened," he said.

"Anybody who allows themselves to shit on Weber's head, I'm going to have to say 'screw you'. The impact that this guy will have on Suzuki, Kotkaniemi and Romanov is indescribable, it is invaluable as a contribution to a team. It makes me angry when fans personally attack Shea Weber, because it's so easy to criticize him. It's so disrespectful to his career and his impact in the locker room."

Weise, who had a 10 year career in the NHL with a number of teams, said no other captain he had was as good as Weber.

"I've had some great captains in my career, Henrik Sedin, Jonathan Toews, Brian Gionta and Max Pacioretty, those were really great, but Shea tops my list," insisted Weise.

Weber is suffering from a number of injuries and Montreal GM Marc Bergevin has said it's almost certain he will not play at all in 2021-22. Bergevin has also said Weber may not return as an active player again.

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