Elliotte Friedman noted on Headlines on Saturday that the Edmonton Oilers will likely find a buyer in a trade that would move Andrew Mangiapane this offseason. The team he believed was most interested right now is the Anaheim Ducks.
Friedman did not say that a deal with the Ducks was imminent, that the return of any trade was known, or that it had even been discussed. The NHL Insider only mentioned that the Ducks were reportedly open to the idea and may have had some conversations with GM Stan Bowman of the Oilers.
Mangiapane made another good impression on Saturday when the Oilers hosted the Philadelphia Flyers. Edmonton lost 5-2 in that game, and there was a real sense that the team’s depth production is becoming a clear problem. Edmonton tried to showcase and take Mangiapane to the next level in their last game, but Mangiapane failed to rise to the challenge. He played less than nine minutes and was taken off that second line.
At this point, it’s believed that the Oilres would be willing to dump Mangiapane’s contract if they didn’t have to give the Ducks a sweetener to make a trade happen. It doesn’t sound like there are any concerns about sending the forward to a division rival.
Mangiapane is running out of rope in Edmonton
Some believed the Oilers were trying to send a message to Mangiapane that he needed to increase his urgency and intensity. In an attempt to find a solution, Edmonton called both Ike Howard and Quinn Hutson this weekend. They played on a line with Matt Savoie against the Flyers on Saturday, and the experiment didn’t go very well. Still, Mangiapane has fallen in the Oilers depth chart to a point where the franchise is willing to experiment with rookies rather than give a former 35-goal player more opportunities to produce.
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