June 29, 2016, landed as one of those rare NHL days when the news barely had time to breathe. The New Jersey Devils landed Taylor Hall from the Edmonton Oilers for Adam Larsson at 3:34 PM, then 20 minutes later the Montreal Canadiens announced they had acquired Shea Weber from the Nashville Predators for P.K.
Subban. Three minutes after that, Steven Stamkos said he was staying with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In Montreal, though, the Weber-Subban swap was the one that grabbed the spotlight and never really let go.
Subban was the kind of defenseman who made the building rise. He could turn a shift in his own end into a rush the other way, and that was part of what made him such a jolt for Canadiens fans during the Carey Price era.
He also brought personality, but it was the way he played that made him impossible to ignore. When Lane Hutson began his career with the Habs, he became the first defenseman since Subban to create that same kind of buzz with his movement all over the ice.
By the time Marc Bergevin moved him, Subban had already put in seven seasons in Montreal. He appeared in 434 games, produced 278 points, and won the James Norris Trophy after the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season.
In that 42-game campaign, he piled up 38 points. His final year with the Canadiens brought 51 points in 68 games before an injury ended his season early.
That injury came in what turned out to be his last game as a Hab, on March 10, 2016, against the Buffalo Sabres. He logged 29:55 before leaving on a stretcher after a collision with Alexei Emelin.
That was not the ending he had in mind.
Subban’s NHL career lasted six more seasons, split between three with the Predators and three with the New Jersey Devils, before he retired.
Weber’s path in Montreal was shorter, and injuries shaped it in a different way. He spent five seasons with the Canadiens, played 275 games out of a possible 373, and recorded 146 points, including 58 goals. His game was built on force: heavy hits, a hard edge, and a booming shot from the blue line that quickly became the Canadiens’ go-to option on the power play.
His style fit the Bergevin blueprint more neatly than Subban’s ever did. Still, the trade never produced the ending Montreal wanted.
Weber never delivered the franchise’s 25th Stanley Cup, but he did captain the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020-21. Montreal lost to the Lightning in five games, and that turned out to be the final chapter of Weber’s career.
He played through a torn meniscus, a broken ankle, torn thumb tendons, and a torn groin.
Questions about his future had already started when he was left unprotected for the expansion draft. Then, in October 2021, the Canadiens announced that he would sit out the season and may never play again. That, as it turned out, was the end.
Ten years later, the deal still stands as one of the biggest in Canadiens history, but it didn’t unfold the way anyone expected. Both players were gone sooner than anyone would have guessed. Even so, Subban remains a beloved memory for the energy and offense he brought, while Weber is remembered for taking Montreal closer to the Cup than it had been since 1993, when the Canadiens won their 24th.
In Other News...
Canadiens Just Drew A Hard Line On One Young Forward
Trade chatter around Montreal has a familiar winter feel, but one name appears to be off the table. According to media reports, general manager Kent Hughes has no interest in moving Michael Hage, the University of Michigan forward who has quickly become one of the more intriguing pieces in the Canadiens pipeline.
The stance matters because center depth is always at a premium, and Montreal sees Hage as part of its long-term answer down the middle. With Nick Suzuki locked in and Kirby Dach still trying to get through another difficult season, the Canadiens are treating Hage as a future layer of insurance rather than the kind of asset they can afford to shop. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Fans Suddenly Have A Jonathan Drouin Decision To Make
Jonathan Drouin is back on the radar in a way that could matter to Montreal, after the Blues placed him on unconditional NHL waivers as they move toward a buyout. For Canadiens fans, the name still carries plenty of history, and this latest twist adds another layer to a player who has already bounced from Colorado to the Islanders and then to St. Louis in the span of this season.
The immediate question is whether Montreal wants to get involved if he reaches free agency, either by putting in a claim or circling back if he clears. Drouin has produced at each stop this season, but his contract runs with a $4 million cap hit through the summer of 2027, which makes any reunion more complicated than a simple nostalgia play. [Read more 🡒]
Logan Sawyer Is Giving Canadiens Fans Another Reason To Believe
Logan Sawyers latest NCAA season has added another layer to the Canadiens prospect picture, and it is the kind of outside validation that usually catches attention in Montreal. Tape2Tape Prospects gave the young forward a strong review for his offensive impact and two-way game, a sign that his progression is being noticed well beyond the organizations own development staff.
The evaluation put Sawyer in rare company among college forwards in his age group and backed it up with an A prospect grade, which helps explain why he is drawing more buzz now than he did a year ago. It also reflects well on the Canadiens scouting operation, with Kent Hughes, Nick Bobrov, and Martin Lapointe all getting recognition for identifying a player who seems to be taking a meaningful step forward. [Read more 🡒]