It's apparently not too early to think big picture when you go undefeated in regulation throughout the month of October.

It's expected the Montreal Canadiens will look to acquire a top-four defenseman via trade to ease the load on veterans Shea Weber and Andrei Markov, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos reported Saturday.

"(Montreal) is concerned about the ice time and the weight on the shoulders of Shea Weber, who many feel ran out of gas toward the latter part of last season."

Montreal has a defenseman they drafted in the first round to fill that top-four role on the active roster, but Kypreos says that it's a "foregone conclusion" Mikhail Sergachev will be sent back to the Ontario Hockey League's Windsor Spitfires, who are set to host this year's Memorial Cup.

The ninth overall draft pick and youngest player in the NHL right now, Sergachev has dressed in three games for the Canadiens, but not in their last five.

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