Canadiens' Shea Weber allowed to go on long-term injured reserve

The NHL has permitted the Canadiens to place defenseman Shea Weber on LTIR, reports Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic in the latest Insider Trading segment. Shortly following the playoffs, Montreal announced Weber would not play at all this season and might not play again, but there were reports that the league wanted to take a closer look at his case since he was able to play for the entirety of the playoffs. To that end, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told LeBrun that “We are not currently challenging that Shea Weber satisfied the CBA requirements necessary to qualify for LTIR”, allowing for the possibility for the Canadiens to re-evaluate the situation later on. Montreal will need to make use of Weber’s LTIR assuming goaltender Carey Price returns at some point this season.

More from the Atlantic Division:

• Senators winger Brady Tkachuk has been ruled out of Saturday’s contest against Toronto, relays Postmedia’s Ken Warren. However, he’s expected to make his season debut either Sunday against Dallas or Thursday against San Jose. Tkachuk signed his seven-year deal on Thursday and will need some time to get up to speed before suiting up.
• Still with Ottawa, the Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve moved goaltender Matt Murray to injured reserve retroactive to Oct. 12. He has been dealing with a non-COVID-related illness that caused him to miss the opener and now it will keep him out through the weekend at the very least. The retroactive placement makes him eligible to be activated for Thursday’s contest.
• Because groin injuries can be longer-term than expected, Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star suggested in a recent appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link) that it’s unlikely that Maple Leafs goaltender Petr Mrazek will return in the near future. He left Thursday’s game against Ottawa due to the injury. It sounds likely that a stint on IR is forthcoming, which means they will need to call a goalie up from the minors, likely veteran Michael Hutchinson.