
There are a couple of updates worth noting on Tuesday as news spreads that the Edmonton Oilers and forward Andrew Mangiapane are open to a trade that would see him moved to another NHL franchise. Upon learning that Mangiapane has said that he would be open to waiving his full no-trade clause for the “right opportunity,” there have been a few developments.
First, Tom Gazzola of Edmonton Sports Talk says Mangiapane was set to play in Monday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. He was slotted for the fourth line, and his coming out of the lineup was a late change. That doesn’t mean a trade is imminent, but it does sound like he was pulled for trade-related reasons.
Second, it was also reported that Mangiapane’s agent was given the green light to seek a trade and speak to other teams. Because the forward wants to ensure a good fit, it makes sense that the player and the agent would like to provide an opportunity to play. Given that Mangiapane’s role changed only recently in Edmonton, that likely means a top-six role somewhere.
Gazzola reports that GM Stan Bowman has stepped in and taken over the process, trying to fast-track a trade. This is not something the Oilers want hanging over the team, and that could mean that Mangiapane might not see much game action, if any at all, until this is sorted out.
David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that the Oilers are actively shopping the winger, and the overall “best fit” is what’s important to him.
Edmonton is not necessarily looking for a return. The idea here is remove the cap space from the books and not pay a sweetener to get a team to take on Mangiapane’s full $3.6M cap hit. He makes that both this and next season.
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