MONTREAL – If you’ve ever been around Shea Weber, you know what they say is true: the man just has an aura.

In part, this is due to his physical stature: six feet four inches tall, weighing 230 pounds, it’s no wonder he’s referred to as the mountain man.

TICKETS: Celebrate Shea Weber at the Bell Center on November 16

But it wasn’t just his physique; Weber behaves a certain way, treats people a certain way, and works a certain way.

That meant that, as a player, Weber brought more to his teams than just goals, assists and good defense. He also set the tone for clubs when it came to attitude and culture.

“As soon as we got him into our locker room, he just took it with him. He does everything the right way, every day,” related Brendan Gallagher of Weber, who officially became a Hab on June 29, 2016 in the trade that sent PK Subban to the Nashville Predators. “The players see that. It didn’t matter who you were. You saw the way he carried himself, the way he was a complete professional. He showed up to play, he practiced hard, he was in the gym, he took care of the coaches. He just did everything right. He created a culture around here that has continued and everyone who played with him benefited from it.”

With 16 seasons of stellar NHL hockey under his resume, Weber’s playing days now over due to injuries, the former Canadiens captain is reaching a major new milestone in his storied career: induction into the NHL’s Hall of Fame. Hockey.

For those who were able to hit the ice with the Sicamous, BC native, the nod to the hockey pantheon comes as no surprise.

“I was lucky to play with him and see what he was like in the room. Obviously, he was just a very stable guy. He does pretty much everything you need,” praised Cole Caufield, who traveled to the Stanley Cup Final with Weber in 2020-21. “Vocal leader, quiet leader, he just did everything that was asked of him and took the group with him. Everything you’ve probably heard about him is true, and probably even more. “He’s just a very special guy and person.”

If being in the Hall of Fame is an honor reserved for relatively few, Weber is a member of an even more exclusive club: he is one of 31 men who have worn the C for the Canadiens. His successor, Nick Suzuki, was fortunate to be able to learn directly from Weber before taking over the captaincy himself.

“Shea was an incredible teammate and captain for us. He taught me a lot early in my career,” shared Suzuki, who played with Weber in 2019-20 and 2020-21. “He was an incredible person; He truly cared about everyone else and at the same time was an incredible player. “He contributed a lot to our group and we couldn’t have done it without him.”

Weber was a unifier off the ice, but let’s also not forget what he did on the skates.

“He was bad, he was intense,” Gallagher noted of Weber, who finished with 224 goals, 589 points, a plus-79 differential and 2,212 hits in 1,038 NHL games with the Predators and Canadiens. “It was just tough. He defended hard. He made sure you knew when he was on the ice. If you paint yourself into a corner with Webs, you will have to pay the price. If you go to the front of the network, you will have to pay the price. You can hammer a record. He did everything you could ask of a boy and he did it for a long time in this League. Without a doubt, he is very deserving of being a member of the Hall of Fame.”