Rumor: Habs may trade veteran defenseman Shea Weber.

Believe it or not, it sounds like veteran defenseman Shea Weber may be involved in some form of trade in the not so distant future.

On Saturday night, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that there is a chance that the Canadiens could look to deal Weber, or more specifically his contract, in the near future to a team looking to hit the salary cap floor on the cheap. Friedman believes the fact that Weber's deal carries a larger cap hit than it does actual salary will be appealing to teams looking to spend as little as possible in the short term, a situation that makes sense given the massive financial losses suffered by the NHL and it's teams as a result of the Covid 19 pandemic.

"A lot of the talk in Montreal obviously has been about defensemen who could be available, but there is another one there too and that is Shea Weber's contract," began Friedman during Saturday night's NHL broadcast of the game between the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs. "Weber of course likely not going to play in the National Hockey League ever again. He's got 4 years left after this year but the cap hit is $7.9 million but the cash is 6 million dollars total, and I wouldn't be surprised if some teams who either need long term injury room or wanna get to the cap floor and aren't looking to spend a ton the next couple of years take a look at that Weber contract. It's a possible move."

When Friedman says "6 million dollars total" that is in fact what he means. Weber's contract was heavily front loaded prior to the NHL implementing rules against this type of deal, and he will earn $3 million next season and only $1 million per season for the 3 subsequent seasons that will follow that one. That means that teams looking to reach the cap floor could do so in a very, very cheap fashion and that could very well turn Weber's contract into a genuine asset for the Montreal Canadiens moving forward.

A team like the Arizona Coyotes immediately comes to mind as a potential destination for such a trade, and the only question left to ask at this point is what kind of return can the Canadiens expect in such a trade? After all they would be doing one of their rivals a pretty big favor when it comes to adding a total of $31,428,572 in salary cap dollars at the low, low cost of just $6 million in actual dollars.

Friedman also had one additional note when it came to the Montreal Canadiens during his 32 Thoughts segment on Saturday night, and that was as it pertains to the NHL draft set to take place this summer. There were some concerns the NHL could pull the event out of Montreal over the strict Covid restrictions in the country of Canada, and more specifically in the province of Quebec, but it sounds like those restrictions are expected to be lifted by the time the draft rolls around.

"It's not set yet, but it appears to be looking more positive that the draft will be held there this year," said Friedman in conclusion.