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Topic 10000, 9999 was driving me bonkers. Happy to see another year of Icecaps where I live though!

The "Weber is a bum" is hyperbole. Weber still has 20 goal potential, still has good ability when it comes to even strength puck possession, and is still a threatening player on the ice. But Weber also isn't what he used to be, and he'll be less of what he is now sooner than later. A declining asset is still an asset. The real problem for Weber will come from the fact his style is nothing like Subban's, especially when it comes to his foot speed. It's very possible he works better in Therrien's system because he will be more willing to dump the puck instead of carry it. Neither Shea Weber or Andrei Markov have the footspeed to carry against top lines on the road and Nathan Beaulieu might not be there yet to do it in Markov's stead. That means a complete change in how the puck is carried on the top line. Either Montreal changes their style up to dump the puck or works towards Weber and Markov getting the puck to a faster forward who does the work, which creates an easy situation for opponent's to neutral zone trap the Habs. That's not even getting into how PK Subban is one of the best shot suppressors in the NHL and Shea Weber has awful numbers for shot suppression in Nashville. Unless Weber changes up his style and can keep shots from coming to Carey Price/Mike Condon/Al Montoya/Pat Jablonski, we're going to have even more time than ever spent in the defensive zone trying to keep pucks from coming at the goalie. That's not to say this all can't work out for Montreal. Weber playing a dump and chase style, which would satisfy Therrien more, could lead to Montreal changing up their style that works to the team Therrien is trying to coach. Less friction with the coach could lead to a happier lineup. Montreal might go back to focusing more on succeeding on the powerplay, which could lead to a lot of wins (not that Montreal was hurting in that department two years ago) and with Weber/Shaw bringing more physicality to the lineup, maybe some players skate more freely with the puck because of it. But even then, Montreal would have to prove that playing a style of hockey that hasn't succeeded to the Cup much since the lockout is the way to go. Basically, Montreal would be bigger underdogs than ever before. Kinda funny but it's true. They would be trying to prove to the National Hockey League that they were the first team in a very long time to win the Stanley Cup playing dump and chase. Despite Montreal now being a more physical team. If you're fine with that, Shea Weber is just what the doctor ordered. If you were hoping Montreal would trend towards what has worked for most Cup teams, this might not be a good omen.

I laugh when I hear how a guy who scored 20 goals had 51 points and is feared by most players and lavished praise by all gm and coaches rather then media and analysts is on the decline... Can't wait to see his bounce back year?

Oh no, two got into an interaction. I guess we need to trade one of them, otherwise there maybe locker room issues.