Canadiens celebrate Weber milestone

MONTREAL - Canadiens captain Shea Weber suited up for his 1,000th career NHL game on Tuesday night - a milestone 16 seasons in the making.

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Like most pandemic-era parties, Weber's soiree was unique with no fans in attendance to help him celebrate the occasion, but the Habs still found plenty of ways to make sure Shea felt the love during his millennium festivities.
READ: Weber Tribute
Fans started the celebrations during the day, flooding Twitter with their favorite Weber moments using the hashtag
#Shea1000
. Those messages were curated into a Twitter mosaic, appearing at the bottom of the tribute article for the Habs captain. They were also shown on screens lining the path to the Canadiens' dressing room, giving fans a chance to show Weber some love as he arrived for the game.

Weber's kids also added their own special touch to their dad's big night, designing posters that lined the glass to help cheer him on despite the distance.

When Canadiens PA announcer Michel Lacroix announced the milestone at the first TV timeout, Weber wasn't waving to 21,000 empty seats; he was saluting his friends and family, who were partying together over a Zoom call that was streamed onto the Bell Centre scoreboard, giving them a chance to be at the game, virtually.

Some of Weber's friends across the League also got in on the action, with everyone from Pekka Rinne to Ryan Suter sending in messages of support for the former Preds and Team Canada blue-liner.

The team also commissioned some artwork to fete the occasion, calling on BC-based artist Jason Maas, to create an oil pencil art piece featuring Weber with the two NHL teams he's played with over the last decade-and-a-half.;

Of course, Weber made sure the celebration was sweet, picking up an assist and - more importantly - picking up another two points in the standings with a 5-3 win over the Canucks. Of course, no millennium party would be complete without balloons and beer.

The festivities continue on Thursday night with an on-ice pre-game ceremony, where his family and Habs GM Marc Bergevin will present Weber with his commemorative silver stick.
Fans looking to get in the mood for Thursday's shindig can check out the effects tab of the team's
Instagram account
for a fun surprise.