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Utah: Shea Weber is the only defenseman under contract to have played more than one game in the NHL
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The last time Shea Weber played hockey was in the summer of 2021. The defenseman, who gave his all to try and lift the Stanley Cup with the Habs, ultimately saw his team lose in five games to the Lightning.

We suspected he was suffering… but we had no idea that these would be the last games of his career.

The only reason Weber hasn’t announced his retirement is to collect the last million dollars of his contract. He didn’t steal them, after all, and that’s his right.

But the fact remains that he’s purely “a contract” in the NHL world right now.

Right now, Weber is a member of the Utah roster, where he’ll obviously never play… but what’s problematic is that right now, Weber is the only defenseman under contract in the organization who has played more than one game in the NHL.

Patrik Koch, signed late yesterday, has just one NHL game under his belt. Maveric Lamoureux, Maksymilian Szuber and Montana Onyebuchi are also under contract, but have never played a game in the Bettman circuit.

Bill Armstrong will have to work hard to get along with defensemen this summer. Obviously, he won’t have too much trouble getting along with Sean Durzi, JJ Moser and Juuso Välimäki, who are restricted free agents. The same goes for Michael Kesselring, Vladislav Kolyachonok and Victor Söderström, who also have some NHL experience.

That said, Josh Brown and Travis Dermott, who each played some 50 games for the Coyotes last year, are free as a bird.

They could return, but that’s far less certain.

We’ll see how Armstrong manages his defensive brigade for next year, but what’s clear is that the team’s six regular defensemen in 2024-25 probably don’t yet have contracts with the organization.

Unless one of the youngsters forces the team’s hand, Koch surprise or Weber miraculously regains his health, which won’t happen.

In Overtime

– Cayden Lindstrom isn’t afraid of the Montreal pressure.

– Great read.

– Remember that he would be one of the four options considered by the Habs for the fifth spot.

– Pardon?

– A name to watch.

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