There’s been some chatter—mostly sparked by The Athletic—about a possible Vancouver Canucks–Edmonton Oilers trade built around Andrew Mangiapane. Sounds spicy on paper, sure, but when you take a breath and actually look at what each team thinks of their own player, it feels a bit off.
In short, The Athletic suggested that the Canucks take Mangiapane’s contract ($3.6 million) that the Oilers really want to dump, and get a sweetener as additional return for doing so. In return, they noted that the Canucks should send back Drew O’Connor to the Oilers.
O’Connor Is Wanted in Vancouver, Mangiapane Isn’t in Edmonton
Here’s the honest truth: Vancouver seems to value O’Connor (at $2.5 million) way more than Edmonton values Mangiapane right now. And that’s kind of wild, considering nobody expected O’Connor to be this good when the Canucks picked him up.
He was supposed to be a depth piece. Maybe a warm body. Instead, he’s turned into one of those sneaky-effective players who make coaches want to keep. So would the Canucks really send away a guy who’s outperforming expectations just because the Oilers need to dump salary? That’s the real question.