NHL Trade Rumors: Montreal Canadiens Dale Weise expects to be traded
Montreal Canadiens forward Dale Weise expects to be moved at the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 29
The Montreal Canadiens are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline as they look to undergo a very quick rebuild while remaining competitive for the 2016-2017 season. One of their trade candidates is forward Dale Weise. Weise will become an unrestricted free agent after this season. The Canadiens forward seems to see the writing on the wall and expects to be traded.
"I'm not going to lie, I know there's a good chance I'll be traded. It's sad because playing here is a dream come true."--Dale Weise
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 21, 2016
"Of course being traded is on my mind with us on the outside looking in and my status as UFA. Chances are better than me staying."--Weise
— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) February 21, 2016
Weise should garner some interest from other teams at the NHL trade deadline on Feb. 29. He’s a solid third or fourth line wing who is good defensively and can provide some offense. Weise has a career high 14 goals. He also has 25 points this season in 55 games while averaging just over 14 minutes of ice time per game. The Canadiens forward’s 12.1 percent shooting percentage isn’t too far off from his career shooting percentage of 10.9 percent, so he can be expected to maintain his scoring rate assuming he keeps generating chances.
Multiple teams should be interested in Dale Weise assuming the price is right. He’d help almost any contender get more scoring depth which is very important in the playoffs. Weise has 10 points in 34 career playoff games. Seven of those points came during Montreal’s playoff run in 2013-2014. Teams that could express interest in the scrappy wing include the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, and Los Angeles Kings. Each of those teams are exploring ways to improve their bottom six forwards by infusing some scoring depth into it.