The Edmonton Oilers gutted out a 3–1 win over the Winnipeg Jets last night, doing so without forward Andrew Mangiapane, who was a healthy scratch.

Perhaps the scratch was simply a reflection of his recent play, or it could signal something more. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted on a recent episode of the 32 Thoughts podcast, Mangiapane’s first season with the Oilers may be nearing its end, with the forward potentially willing to waive his no-trade clause if Edmonton can find him a larger role elsewhere.

Mangiapane signed a two-year deal worth $3.6-million annually last offseason and carries a no-trade clause. Through 39 games, he’s produced 11 points while playing most of the past month in the bottom six. Overall, Mangiapane has struggled to find consistency or a defined role in the lineup and to me, I’d just chalk it up to some bad juju — being a former Calgary Flame with years wearing the flaming C — who just hasn’t found the right fit while donning the blue and orange silks.

Also, while Mangiapane’s team-worst –16 plus/minus is hard to ignore, once more, perhaps it’s more a reflection of not being the right fit in Oil Country, as he hasn’t had a negative plus/minus rating in the last seven years before this season.

That said, as it appears Mangiapane is open to waiving his no-trade clause for a better opportunity, and despite a down season, he’s been productive offensively in the past, recording 40 points in three of the last four seasons. A change of scenery could make all the difference, and below we’ll take a look at three teams that could swing a deal for the 29-year-old.

The Winnipeg Jets have gone 1-6-3 over their last ten games. Beyond their top line of Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, and Gabriel Vilardi, the team has faced big challenges in generating secondary scoring, and it seems like a shake-up is needed.

Having said that, Mangiapane’s current nine 5v5 points would rank fifth on the Jets, which would be an upgrade over what they have now, and despite a down year offensively himself, his 11 points are still more than ten of the Jets’ forwards, and his five goals this season would place him ninth on Winnipeg.

With Mangiapane’s rumoured to want a bigger role with another team, the Jets — currently tied for last place in the NHL — seem like a good fit. Again, for whatever reason, his tenure with the Oilers hasn’t worked out as planned, but with Winnipeg’s scoring struggles, he could get a chance in the top six. The team could experiment with mixing and matching its players to see if they can find chemistry and help Mangiapane regain the offensive form that saw him record a career-high 55 points in 2021‑22.

The Jets have just over $7-million in cap space and could easily absorb Mangiapane’s $3.6-million cap hit, and it’s noteworthy that, before the Oilers signed him in the offseason, David Pagnotta mentioned that the Jets had Mangiapane on their free-agent target list.

The Dallas Stars are one of the powerhouses in the Western Conference, and while Mangiapane might not get a top-six opportunity with them, the chance to have a change of scenery and play for a legitimate Stanley Cup contender could make it an appealing destination for him to waive his no-trade clause.

As mentioned, Mangiapane hasn’t played lights-out this season, but his offensive track record speaks for itself, scoring 80 goals over the previous four seasons. The hope, of course, is that he regains his scoring touch, but what would make him appealing to the Stars is adding veteran experience to their lineup for a deep playoff push, as Mangiapane brings more veteran savvy than bottom-six players like Justin Hryckowian, Mavrik Bourque, and Oskar Back.

Also, at 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, Mangiapane may be undersized by NHL standards, but when he’s at his best, he plays bigger than his frame suggests and has shown a feistiness to his game —though he hasn’t displayed that consistently in his 39 games with the Oilers. According to Natural Stat Trick, Mangiapane is averaging 3.53 hits per 60 minutes this season, compared to nearly 8.03 per 60 in last season’s playoffs, meaning perhaps the 29-year-old reserves his intensity for the postseason, which could make him a good fit for the Stars.

And who knows, if they face the Oilers again in the postseason, the team that knocked them out of the Western Conference Final the past two seasons, they might be trading for a player with a chip on his shoulder who would be highly motivated to take on his former team. That said, with just over $3-million in cap space, the Stars would need to send a player back to Edmonton or perform some cap gymnastics to make the deal work.

Much like the Jets, David Pagnotta noted last June that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in Mangiapane before he signed a two-year deal with the Oilers.

Any trade for the 29-year-old would require him to waive his no-trade clause, but one appealing aspect of a move to the Leafs is that he’d be returning home to his hometown of Toronto.

For the Maple Leafs, just like the other teams mentioned in this piece, the main hope is that a change of scenery would help Mangiapane find consistency, and for them, a near one-for-one trade for another inconsistent forward, Matias Maccelli — who was a healthy scratch for ten games between Nov. 22 and Dec. 20 but has three points in his last three games — could be a deal both teams would be willing to make.

Mangiapane and Maccelli have similar traits: left-shot, both under six feet, roughly around 185 pounds, and both have shown they can eclipse the 40-point mark in the past, though they’re having down seasons with their current clubs. Maccelli has produced 13 points — two more than Mangiapane — in 12 fewer games, and they earn roughly close to the same per season (Maccelli at $3.425-million compared to Mangiapane’s $3.6-million annually). However, Mangiapane has one more year on his contract after this season, which likely means the Oilers would need to include a draft pick if a deal were to happen.

In addition, considering how former Oiler Troy Stecher has performed for the Leafs — averaging over 20 minutes a night and posting six points in 19 games, just one point shy of his total last season with the Oilers in 47 fewer games — perhaps the Maple Leafs would take another gamble and try their luck at acquiring another player from the Northern Alberta squad, in Mangiapane.

From the Oilers’ perspective, trading Mangiapane could open a spot for a youngster like Quinn Hutson or Isaac Howard, who are playing well in the AHL, but bringing in a proven past point producer like Maccelli, who has tallied 57 NHL points in a season, is never a bad move, and it’s one they might be open to, considering it was rumoured they were interested in him last offseason. In the best case, he regains his scoring touch; in the worst case, he finds himself in the press box.

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