Hard-nosed forward expecting to be traded this week.

Dale Weise is expecting this to be his last week with the Habs.

The gritty Montreal Canadiens' forward is a pending unrestricted free agent, and is in the midst of a career year. With 14 goals in 55 games, Weise and his agent engaged in brief negotiations last summer and have not been followed up on since. With Montreal unlikely to make the playoffs this season, the team will likely be in a sellers mentality at the trade deadline on February 29.

Weise knows that the chances of him being moved to another team this week are very high.

“For me to sit here and lie to you and say that I haven’t thought about or haven’t heard anything; that would be me lying,” said Weise Sunday. “There’s a human side to it where obviously this has been a dream come true — playing for the Montreal — for me.

“This is where I want to be. I love Montreal. This is where I want to stay. But unfortunately the business side of it is I’m an unrestricted free agent and our team is on the outside looking in.”

For Weise, leaving Montreal would be bittersweet, as it was with the Habs that he got his first chance to really produce. He was unfairly labeled as a 'goon' at the beginning of his career, and it was only with the Canadiens that he was put in the position to score goals.

“It was never something [Tortorella] explicitly said,” Weise told the Montreal Gazette last November. “It was more like, ‘You played four minutes tonight, but what did you really do out there?’”

“In Vancouver, I could have worn my Dale Weise jersey around the block and no one would have recognized me,” Weise said last season.

Now Weise can't get away from the attention, something he relishes in Montreal.

“This city has the greatest fans in the world,” Weise said Sunday. “It’s been amazing playing here. I’ve loved my time.”

His situation is similar to that of Matt Beleskey last season, who had a career with 22 goals with the Ducks before being offered a five-year contract with the Bruins in free-agency.

Given his 20-goal pace this season, and his penchant for scoring clutch goals in the playoffs, Weise will likely be a hot commodity for teams desperate for a rental for a long playoff run.

Montreal is reportedly fielding calls on the 27-year old, and it appears that Anaheim, Pittsburgh and Nashville could all be takers for him.

Weise is gearing up to be moved this week, and isn't taking any chances.

The Canadiens are home to the Nashville Predators Monday, in Washington Wednesday and home to the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday before embarking on a four-game trip that starts in San Jose and ends in Winnipeg.

“Maybe I’ll be safe and pack some extra clothes,” Weise said. “Thanks for all the support here, if I don’t end up staying.”

Expect a move from the Habs involving Weise imminently.

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