The Washington Capitals and the Calgary Flames have completed a trade. The Flames were able to move a well paid forward in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2025. The forward involved in this trade is none other than Andrew Mangiapane. Mangiapane has one year left on his deal that pays him $5.8 million. Look for the newest member of the Washington Capitals to want to take advantage of this new opportunity.
Andrew Mangiapane has been traded from Calgary to Washington for a second-round pick in 2025
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 28, 2024
The Washington Capitals Acquire Andrew Mangiapane via Trade
Andrew Mangiapane is a terrific depth forward for a team to pick up. This is a guy who scored 35 goals only back to 2021-22. Moreover, that breakout season was what landed him his current, well-paid salary. Through a seven-year NHL career, appearing in 417 career regular season games, Mangiapane has scored 109 goals and assisted on 106 others. Furthermore, he carries an impressive career 14.3 shooting percentage. He has a nose for the net, and will be an asset on the power play in Washington. Look for him to provide some offensive punch to the Capitals forward group.
What Can Mangiapane Bring to the Washington Capitals Team?
In acquiring Mangiapane, the Washington Capitals are continuing on their mission statement. It was thought that General Manager Brian MacLellan would be active on the trade market, and he has been. In landing Mangiapane, just days after acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings, it is clear that the Capitals want to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Adding Mangiapane and Dubois is a lot of help to the depth and stability of their forward group. Outside of Alex Ovechkin, there were a few key forwards, but not many. These moves do a good job of raising the bar for the group as a whole. With Mangiapane and Dubois combined, that is 80 points in their lineup from 2023-24, that the Capitals can look forward to in 2024-25. Given both their ages, Mangiapane (28) and Dubois (26), look for them to maintain their current standard of production.
This Could Spell the Beginning of Something Big in Calgary
As for the Calgary Flames, it appears they are trying to trade assets for the future. Now moving out a salary like Mangiapane could also be a sign that General Manager Craig Conroy has his eyes on a big free agent prize. However, you’d think he could’ve used Mangiapane in a trade for a similar type of purpose. Therefore, it is not totally conclusive if this means the Flames are buyers or sellers, as arguments could be made one way or another. In addition, the Flames did just trade Jacob Markstrom between the pipes. Yes, they have competent NHL with Dan Vladar, but not a lot of NHL depth at the position. It really just feels like Calgary is building for the future and essentially in sell mode. In any case, at this point, there are more questions than answers it seems in Cow Town. Keep your eyes on the Flames over the next few days to see if they remain active of the trade front or possibly replacing players with free agents as well.
Main photo credit: Brett Holmes-USA TODAY Sports
