Alex Galchenyuk is glad his days of playing against Shea Weber are over.
The 22-year-old played only six games against the Nashville Predators before his Montreal Canadiens acquired Weber in exchange for P.K. Subban, but one in particular certainly left an impression.
"I remember last year (Weber) hit me close to the boards and I couldn't feel my legs for like three days," Galchenyuk said Saturday, per Sean Farrell of NHL.com. "And when he's teeing up for a slap shot, you don't want to be in that lane to block a shot.
"If you really think about it, who's one of the toughest guys to play against, he'd definitely be first on my list," Galchenyuk added. "To be able to play with him on the same team, you just can't wait. And he also has that offensive upside. He scored 20 goals last year, and to see a defenseman that can put up those numbers, it also helps."
Galchenyuk recorded the first 30-goal season of his career in 2015-16, while tying a career high in assists with 26. With a player of Weber's ilk now in the mix, he's excited to get back on the ice and prove the Canadiens are still a force to be reckoned with in the Eastern Conference.
"You want to win, you want to win for the fans, and to be honest personally I've never been this excited before a year," he said. "I'm super excited, as is everyone on the team. It's always exciting to come back and know that there's something to prove, and you know everybody's been training and we have a lot of things to prove and prove people wrong."
He'll be able to put his full attention on getting ready for the regular season after not being selected for the North American squad for the World Cup.
