Happy arrivals for Weise and Thompson

BROSSARD - For Dale Weise, many things may have changed, but many more have stayed the same.

The Habs forward, acquired alongside Christian Folin in exchange for David Schlemko and Byron Froese, was reacquainting himself with his old workplace, the Bell Sports Complex, on Tuesday after being called up from the Laval Rocket the day before.
Weise was excited to walk through familiar surroundings and encounter familiar faces, although by sporting a different haircut than the one he had when he last wore bleu-blanc-rouge, he might not have looked so familiar to them.
"I changed it up a little bit. I tried to be a little more aerodynamic out there, but I might have to grow it back now," he cracked. "I don't know. Seeing some of the old pictures, it looks so good. I might have to bring it back."
Old pictures of the 30-year-old will surely well up happy thoughts within him, seeing how Weise enjoyed some of his best, most productive years in a Montreal uniform.
But how does he really feel about being back with the Habs?
"Amazing. It revived me. Just instantly, I feel revived," described Weise, who scored 59 of his 120 career points over parts of three seasons with the Canadiens. "I don't really want to talk about the past in Philly the past two years. I'm always just looking forward. You guys know me; I'm a pretty positive guy. This is going to be awesome for me. It couldn't have come at a better time."

While some might find the fishbowl experience of playing for hockey's most storied franchise intimidating or a weight too heavy to bear, Weise felt a longing for just about every part of what it means to play in Montreal.
"I can't pinpoint one thing. I missed everything. This is the greatest organization in the world," he shared. "The media, you guys, for sure. All these bright lights will work on my tan a little bit. I've been a little light. Everything. I love the city, I love the fan base. I absolutely love being a Montreal Canadien."
On Tuesday, Weise skated on a line with fellow newcomer Nate Thompson and second-year Hab Nicolas Deslauriers - Nos. 22, 21, and 20, respectively - and believes they'll offer up some stability and grit for head coach Claude Julien.
"We had a day out there. I don't know if you guys were watching, but we were on fire. My goodness!" joked Weise. "I haven't played with either of them; it's going to take awhile to get our chemistry going, but we're hard-nosed guys. We're playing along the walls, we're going to get to the net, be physical and be reliable. I think that's all you can ask from your fourth line."
Thompson may be totally brand new to Montreal and the Habs, but it didn't take him long at all to feel right at home.
"It was a lot of fun," he recounted of his first skate with his new club. "It's a fast team for sure, I noticed that right away. It was just fun to get out with the guys, get a practice under my belt and have some fun."
The 34-year-old former Los Angeles King had a limited no-trade clause in his contract, but told reporters it was an easy decision to waive it to come north.
"Whenever you get a chance to play for a franchise like here, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only that, but the year this team is having right now, the way they're playing," explained Thompson, who has 134 points (57G, 77A) in 672 NHL contests. "Overall, I just think it was a good opportunity for me."

Thompson may be a stranger to Montreal, but that's not to say he didn't see any familiar faces in Brossard either: he and Julien overlapped in the Boston Bruins organization at the start of Thompson's career, and the Canadiens' bench boss knows exactly what he wants out of the two new players who will make up his revamped fourth trio.
"The identity we want is obvious: it's that we have experience on our fourth line. We have guys who have been through some things. In the case of Thompson, we have a centerman who is very useful at faceoffs and also on the penalty kill. He's been in the NHL a long time. I had him for a bit in Boston, so I know him," outlined Julien. "As for Weise, people here know him well. I think he had his best years here with the Canadiens. Like we could see this morning, he's a guy who still skates well, forecheck, experience, and he gives us a right-handed shot too. There are a lot of things these two players can bring us to solidify our fourth line."
The Habs travel to Nashville tomorrow ahead of Thursday night's game against the Predators at Bridgestone Arena.