‘Why would Edmonton be calling me’: Andrew Mangiapane talks about joining other side of Battle of Alberta with Oilers

The Battle of Alberta takes centre stage once again Wednesday night, as the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames square off to kick off the year. And the Oilers are entering the matchup with a longtime Flame now on their side.

On July 1st, the Oilers signed winger Andrew Mangiapane to a two-year, $3.6 million AAV contract. Mangiapane was originally drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 Entry Draft by the Flames, playing in Calgary for seven years before he was traded to the Washington Capitals. Now, he’s back in Western Canada and ready to join in on the Battle of Alberta once again, this time in different colours.

Speaking after morning skate on Wednesday, Mangiapane spoke about his journey to Edmonton this summer.

“I think there was so much, I guess, hatred with the Battle of Alberta when I was on the Calgary side that even when they called, I was kind of shocked, right?” he said, per Ryan Pike of Flamesnation. “Just because I was thinking there was no way. Why would Edmonton be calling me, right? But more and more I looked at it, it was a pretty good fit for me and I’m happy to be here. And obviously it’s a little different, but I’m used to the Alberta weather and happy to be back in Alberta.”

Set to face off against his old team right away, Mangiapane is being thrown right into the fire (no pun intended). Still, he’s excited to get it out of the way to avoid the distraction moving forward.

“I think I’m killing two birds with what’s going on here just because, you know, you get the nerves for your first game, first time on the home side here, right?” Mangiapane said. “And then you also have the fact that you’re playing the Flames and the old team and all that. So, killing two birds with one stone, that’s the way I’m kind of looking at it. So, I’m sure there’s going to be jitters for both reasons and just good to get it out of the way right away.”

This season, Mangiapane is looking to get his point totals back up after a slightly down year in Washington. Set to play alongside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Matt Savoie on Wednesday night, he spoke to Edmonton’s deep offensive talent.

“Up and down the lineup, they’re a good team,” Mangiapane said. “Whoever you’re kind of playing with, you’re going to be kind of stepping on the ice with some pretty good players, right? And obviously them going to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, and obviously there are good players in here and a good group of guys, right? So just happy to be kind of a part of that and hopefully go on another long playoff run here.”

Per Flamesnation, Mangiapane will be the 56th player to play for both the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames. Before him, the last to do it was defenceman Tyson Barrie.