Montreal Canadiens defenceman Shea Weber will play his 1,000th game Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.

Weber reflected on the milestone Tuesday ahead of the game, calling it special and a hard mark to reach.

"Obviously it's special," Weber told reporters ahead of the game. "As a kid you dream of playing in the NHL obviously, and as a kid you think that it's going to come true and you imagine it. Realistically it's a lot tougher than people realize. It's tough to do. So just making it here, it's really special."

The 35-year-old has split his career between the Canadiens and the Nashville Predators, who selected him in second round of the 2003 NHL Draft. He played the first 763 games of his career with Nashville before a blockbuster trade ahead of the 2016-17 season sent him to Montreal. Weber has since played 236 games for the Habs.

TSN.ca takes a closer look at some of Weber's career numbers to date:

The Sicamous, BC native has 220 goals and 256 assists for 576 points in his career, with 54 goals and 79 assists recorded while wearing a Habs jersey.

Since the 2005-06 season when Weber joined the league, he has the most goals by a defenceman in the league with 220. He leads San Jose Sharks defenceman Brent Burns, second on the list, by nine goals despite Burns having played in 86 more career games.

 

Most goals by a defenceman (2005-06 to Present)

Player GP G
Shea Weber 999 220
Brent Burns 1,085 211
Dustin Byfuglien 869 177
Zdeno Chara 1,104 166
Mike Green 880 150

Nearly half of Weber's career goals have come on the man advantage, with the four-time NHL All-Star registering 104 of his 220 goals on the power play. That's enough to lead all defenceman since his rookie 2005-06 season in that category as well, with a 25-goal advantage over Zdeno Chara, who sits second on the list with 79. Chara has also played in 105 more career games than Weber.

 

Most power play goals by a defenceman (2005-06 to Present)

Player GP PPG
Shea Weber 999 104
Zdeno Chara 1,104 79
Brent Burns 1,085 75
Dio Phaneuf 1,048 73
Mike Green 880 62

Weber will also become the latest player to hit the 1,000-game milestone while wearing a Habs jersey. He will be the first to do so since forward Tomas Plekanec hit the mark during the 2018-19 season, and the 14th player ever to do so, joining such greats as Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, and Frank Mahovlich.

 

Players to hit 1,000-game milestone in a Habs jersey

Player Date
Shea Weber 2/2/2021
Tomas Plekanec 10/15/2018
Hal Gill 10/20/2011
Patrice Brisebois 3/14/2009
Alex Kovalev 10/26/2007
 Bryan Smolinski 10/22/2007
Roman Hamrlik 10/3/2007
Stephane Quintal 1/6/2004
Bob Gainey 1/5/1987
Larry Robinson 3/19/1986
Frank Mahovlich 1/23/1972
Henri Richard 2/25/1971
Claude Provost 3/25/1970
Jean Beliveau 10/29/1969