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When former Montreal Canadiens’ fan favorite Dale Weise became estranged from the Chicago Blackhawks’ team that acquired his services last season, there were rumours that negotiations to bring back the unrestricted free agent were underway. Weise had been quite serviceable for the Habs, chipping in offensively and working hard every time he took to the ice. A good role player who seemed to get along well with his teammates, Weise had publicly expressed interest in coming back to his childhood team during the offseason. Unfortunately, the reality of the NHL is that it’s a game of numbers, and money talks louder than any loyalty ever could. At least, that’s the case for the “Dutch Gretzky”, who was less-than-genuine in his comments.
Last week, Stu Cowan of Hockey Inside/Out conducted an interview with Weise and asked him questions regarding different topics such as his former teammate P.K. Subban and head coach Michel Therrien.
A discussion regarding his contract negotiations was held, and here are a few key points that I took away from the interview:
1) When asked about Subban, Weise alluded to the fact that the defenseman’s personality was blown out of proportion and that he knows firsthand who Subban really is because he considers him his best friend. He called Subban a “team-first guy”, and made a good point about how he didn’t need to prove anything to anyone because he had already signed his lucrative contract. He added that his buddy is “extremely passionate about winning.”
2) Regarding Michel Therrien, he once again had nothing negative to say about him. He assures that the head coach was nothing short of supportive and managed to get the best out of Weise, telling him that the organization doesn’t care about his past and wanted to see him seize the opportunity. Weise went on to say that Therrien is tough only when it comes to losing because he takes that very seriously, and that the coach was “pretty fair to everybody throughout the lineup.”
3) When it came to the contract negotiations, Weise admitted that the Habs had made him a three-year offer with significantly less money than what the (reportedly) 10-12 other teams had laid on the line. Eventually, he opted to sign a 4-year, $9.4 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers
Here’s what I gather from those comments.
Firstly, I don’t want to dive too deep into the Subban discussion. Weise defended his close friend, and said what many of us already know and believe: the man is a passionate one and has a larger-than-life personality. Whether he was disliked in the locker room is a topic that’s been grossly overdone, so let’s just leave it at that.
Secondly, it was clear he liked Therrien. The latter gave him opportunities to succeed and often placed him in situations that nobody thought he could handle. For instance, it wasn’t rare to see the right-winger playing on the top line and contributing offensively. While he certainly did not belong there, he took full advantage of the moment and undoubtedly surprised many. However, the truth of the matter is that Weise couldn’t possibly criticize the person who clearly favoured him: he was one of the head coach’s favorite players.
My issue with these comments is very simple. If you look at David Desharnais and the opportunities he was presented with, calling Therrien “fair” becomes a bit of a stretch. As you all know, an unproductive Desharnais ate up way too much ice-time over emerging talent such as Alex Galchenyuk’s, especially on the power play. That’s just one example.
In my opinion, Weise was being disingenuous when talking about Therrien.
Which leads me to the contract he signed in Philadelphia.
For the life of me, I can’t understand how professional athletes will always claim that their “hearts” are with “X” and “Y” team and that they’d like to “retire as an (insert team name here)” yet end up going somewhere else to earn a bigger paycheck.
If Dale Weise was exactly what he claimed to be- a lifelong Habs fan who wanted to come back- he would have accepted less money to play in Montreal. But he did not. When offered a three-year deal, he outright told them that they’ll “…have to come up with a lot more… (He wasn’t) going to take less money to play here.”
It’s too bad those statements are not in line with what he so fervently proclaimed. He came across as greedy and after the only thing that makes the world go around. I don’t think there’s any room for those kinds of players within this franchise.
Once again, he was not being honest, and therefore will not be missed.
Not by me, anyways.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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