Rumor: NHL GM looking to make another big move before the season.

There are some big time rumors flying around the National Hockey League, and one of them suggests that Shea Weber's defensive partner in Montreal this season may not be on the Canadiens roster just yet.

This rumor centers around the fact that Kris Russell, one of the top free agent defensemen who was available this summer, remains unsigned despite the fact that many believed he would be among those signed on the opening days of the free agent process. Not only was that incorrect, but Russell still remains unsigned now in late August.

Over the last few weeks we've been hearing rumors suggesting that Russell was waiting on certain teams to clear salary cap space prior to signing his new contract, rumors that were echoed by TSN Insider Darren Dreger earlier this month lending a great deal of weight and credibility to the reports coming in.

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Among the teams rumored to be interested in Russell were the cap-strapped Montreal Canadiens, and while it was originally unclear how the Canadiens would look to clear up cap space, we may now have the answer, and the answer is reportedly going to be a trade.

A report today in The Hockey Press has revealed that Russell is in fact leaning towards signing with the Canadiens, and if it means a chance to play alongside a guy like Shea Weber it's not hard to see why. The Hockey Press is also reporting that the Canadiens will look to move one of two forwards in order to make the move a possibility, either Tomas Plekanec or David Desharnais.

If the Canadiens were to pull this off, this would have to go down as one of the most active offseasons by an NHL general manager when it comes to the Habs Marc Bergevin. Russell would become just the latest high profile addition to a Canadiens roster that has already added Shea Weber, Andrew Shaw and Alexander Radulov just this summer.