"I think what we tried to do, and the medical staff tried to do, was to get him healed without surgery because there was a good possibility that could happen," Julien said. "But after doing that, and trying it and seeing that he wasn't totally comfortable, the medical staff sought a second opinion to see if the surgery was the right thing to do. And the conclusion was that the specialists and our medical staff both agreed that that was the next step."
Weber is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of training camp next season, Canadiens surgeon Dr. Paul Martineau said. The length of his recovery will be determined following the surgery.
"If he would have had surgery, whatever, two months ago, he'd still be out for the rest of the year, so it didn't matter," Julien said. "It was about doing the right thing at the time, always with Shea's approval and all that stuff, and I think right now he feels that that's the next route to take as well."
The Canadiens (22-29-8), who host the New York Rangers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, MSG2, NHL.TV) are 13 points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Montreal has lost six straight games and nine of 11 and on Thursday said goalie Carey Price would be out indefinitely with a concussion sustained Tuesday in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Weber, who was acquired from the Nashville Predators in a trade for defenseman P.K. Subban on June 29, 2016, has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 26 games this season.
