The Montreal Canadiens announced Thursday morning that they have placed their captain, Shea Weber, on the injured reserve. This is a huge blow for the Canadiens, as Weber had been having one of his best seasons in quite some time and was one of the only reasons the Habs hadn't fallen completely off the rails.
Sportsnet reporter Eric Engels took to twitter this morning to confirm the Weber news. In the tweet, he mentions that it is a lower body injury, although due to the swelling they are unsure just how serious the injury could be. He is listed as being out at least one week.
In a corresponding move, Montreal has recalled defenceman Xavier Ouellet from the AHL. Ouellet has played 160 NHL regular season games over his seven-year professional career, however he has not appeared in any games this season. In 39 games with the Laval Rocket he has put up nine goals and 15 assists.
After two injury riddled seasons in Montreal, Weber was playing like himself again. The 6'4 defenceman currently has 34 points in 55 games, good enough for fifth in team scoring. An injury to a key player is nothing new to the Canadiens this season, as it seems they haven't had a fully healthy roster all year long. Due in large part to that, they find themselves trailing the Florida Panthers by seven points for third in the Atlantic Division, and eight points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the final wildcard position. Any chance of them getting to the playoffs would require a miracle.
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Habs recall defenseman Xavier Ouellet from Laval
