Flames' Mangiapane is a potential trade candidate this summer

The Calgary Flames didn’t get the bounce-back performance they were hoping to see from Andrew Mangiapane this season.

The 28-year-old appeared to be well on his way to establishing himself as a very good NHL goal scorer after finding the back of the net 35 times in 2021-22. Ex-Flames general manager (GM) Brad Treliving clearly felt the same way, signing him to a three-year, $17.4 million contract extension.

Like many, Mangiapane struggled last season, seeing his goal total regress to just 17 despite playing all 82 games. With so many players regressing, the Flames chose to fire Darryl Sutter in hopes of getting the group back on track. For players such as Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, and MacKenzie Weegar, it seemed to do the trick. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Mangiapane.

Once again, Mangiapane regressed in 2023-24, seeing his goal total fall to just 14. He was a nonfactor on far too many nights this season and could be on the block this summer.

For other teams, there is plenty of intrigue in scooping Mangiapane up. Despite his recent struggles, he is in the prime of his career age-wise and has shown a great ability to find the back of the net when at his best. He is also very responsible defensively, which makes his $5.8 million cap hit reasonable when he’s on.

The biggest bonus is that he has just one year remaining on his deal. That creates far less of a risk for GMs to make a move for him, and could even see the Flames retain some of the cap hit should they receive a return they like. With the team likely to be in a similar spot standings-wise in 2024-25, capitalizing on whatever value he may have left is something that Craig Conroy is likely to explore this summer.

Whether a deal comes to fruition or not remains to be seen, but unless he is able to make it through the summer and really turn things around next season, it seems like Mangiapane’s days as a Flame are limited.