Canadiens' Patrik Laine linked to Canadian rival

Nick Kypreos has the rumor mill in a chokehold right now. It's the kind of talk that makes fans at the bar drop their wings and stare at the screen.

It's a classic case of two GMs trying to trade their headaches away. Neither player is living up to the hype this year.

Patrik Laine is a mountain of a man at 6'4'', but he hasn't looked like a game-changer for Montreal lately. He's a heavy shooter who simply can't find his rhythm.

He was the golden boy when Winnipeg grabbed him #2 overall in the first round of the 2016 draft. But that pedigree doesn't pay the bills when you've got 0 goals in 5 games.

Kent Hughes has been patient, yet Laine and his $8.7M big ticket are weighing down the roster. It's hard to justify that hit when he only has 1 point to show for his work.

Then you look at Andrew Mangiapane, a player who defines the word motor even if he's stuck in the mud in Edmonton. He's a pest who usually makes life miserable for defenders.

He was a massive long shot as a 6th-round flyer, going #166 overall in 2015, and he's fought for every inch of ice. But his first year with the Oilers is a total mess.

Mangiapane only has 6 goals and 12 points across 47 games. That -19 rating is enough to make any coach lose sleep at night in the middle of a playoff race.

Bowman thinks he can exploit Laine's elite release to give the Oilers some secondary scoring punch. He wants a sniper to finish the looks that McDavid creates every shift.

Laine needs to earn his paycheck. Maybe the bright lights of Edmonton will finally wake the sniper up and get him back to his 40-goal form.

This trade is a high-stakes gamble between two teams who are tired of waiting for their stars to show up. It's a move born out of pure frustration.

Expect a deal soon. Both sides are desperate.

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