Senators, Oilers Had Trade Talks Regarding Andrew Mangiapane

Speaking on last week’s episode of Hello Hockey, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers have had trade talks regarding forward Andrew Mangiapane. He did not disclose how in-depth these conversations were or whether there was any further progress toward a deal.

It’s almost a foregone conclusion that Mangiapane will be traded this season. In late December, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the Oilers were looking to move Mangiapane in an effort to thin out a relatively saturated forward group. A few days later, Friedman again shared that Mangiapane wants to move to a better situation for himself, and that the Anaheim Ducks, Detroit Red Wings, and Winnipeg Jets had been in touch with Edmonton to some degree or another.

It stands to reason that the Senators will want to climb back into contention before adding a depth piece similar to Mangiapane. Despite being six points back of a playoff spot, six teams are separating Ottawa from the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have a 3-6-1 record over their last 10 contests, the worst in the Atlantic Division over that stretch.

Furthermore, it’s not altogether clear how Mangiapane will benefit the Senators. He has been relatively disappointing over the past two years, scoring 19 goals and 39 points in his last 123 games between the Oilers and Washington Capitals. For context, in his final year with the Calgary Flames, Mangiapane scored 14 goals and 40 points in 75 games.

It really depends on what Ottawa would be looking for Mangiapane to contribute. The team is averaging 3.11 GF/G, good for 14th in the league. There’s always a place to add more goal-scoring, though the Senators have had much larger issues keeping the puck out of their net.

Mangiapane has shown flashes of being a defensively responsible forward, as evidenced by his 91.8% on-ice SV% with the Capitals last year. Unfortunately, he hasn’t played similarly this season, posting an 83.7% mark with the Oilers, the worst on the team for forwards who have played in 25 or more games.

If Ottawa is interested in Mangiapane for his defensive attributes, they will need to hope that their coaching staff can help revert him to how he played last year in Washington. However, if they’re looking to add more secondary or even tertiary scoring, there are likely better and more affordable options available than Mangiapane.