{"id":390781,"date":"2026-01-04T21:07:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/390781\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T21:07:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:07:12","slug":"is-a-ryan-strome-reunion-the-spark-the-edmonton-oilers-desperately-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/390781\/","title":{"rendered":"Is A Ryan Strome Reunion The Spark The Edmonton Oilers Desperately Need?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Edmonton<\/a>Edmonton’s Andrew Mangiapane (left) and Anaheim’s Ryan Strome (right) compete for a loose puck along the boards. Both veteran forwards have recently been healthy scratches for their respective teams and are central figures in current NHL trade rumors.<\/p>\n

Where there is smoke, there is usually fire, and right now, the smoke signals coming out of Edmonton and Anaheim are impossible to ignore. According to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman<\/a>, the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks<\/a> may be converging on a significant \u201cchange of scenery\u201d trade.<\/p>\n

The writing is on the wall: The Oilers made Andrew Mangiapane<\/a> a healthy scratch for the second time in three games, a massive red flag for a player in the first year of a $3.6 million contract. Meanwhile, in Anaheim, former Oiler Ryan Strome<\/a> has seen his minutes slashed and has also faced the healthy scratch treatment. When two teams simultaneously scratch high-priced veterans, phone calls are definitely happening. Friedman confirms the Ducks have been \u201cpoking around\u201d regarding Mangiapane, but can the cap-strapped Oilers actually make the money work for a Strome reunion?<\/p>\n

Analyzing the Cap Implications of a Strome-Mangiapane Deal<\/p>\n

Here is my take on why this deal is fascinating, but also complicated.<\/p>\n

For the Edmonton Oilers, this screams desperation\u2014but perhaps the necessary kind. Mangiapane, at 29, was brought in to provide grit and secondary scoring, but the chemistry just hasn\u2019t materialized in Northern Alberta. With a full no-trade clause (NTC) this season, Mangiapane holds the cards. However, players rarely block trades from situations where they are sitting in the press box. If he wants to play, he will waive for a team like Anaheim where he can log top-six minutes.<\/p>\n

The Ducks, pushing for their first playoff berth since 2018, have the cap space to absorb money, which is the key to this entire operation. Ryan Strome carries a $5 million cap hit<\/a>. The Oilers, as always, are dancing right against the salary cap ceiling. A one-for-one swap works mathematically only if Anaheim retains salary.<\/p>\n

If the Ducks retain, say, $1.4 million of Strome\u2019s deal, the money becomes a wash with Mangiapane\u2019s $3.6 million hit.<\/p>\n

From a hockey perspective, I like this for Edmonton. Strome had undeniable chemistry with the Oilers\u2019 core during his previous stint. He is a natural center who can play the wing, and his playmaking ability fits McDavid and Draisaitl\u2019s style better than Mangiapane\u2019s straight-line grinding game. For Anaheim, they get a slightly younger winger with a lower cap hit who might rebound with fresh opportunities.<\/p>\n

Friedman noted that some clubs are worried about the second year of Mangiapane\u2019s deal, but for a Ducks team looking to add veteran presence without breaking the bank long-term, it\u2019s a calculated risk worth taking.<\/p>\n

Latest Edmonton Oilers News, Fantasy Pools, and TV Listings<\/p>\n

Want to stay ahead of the trade deadline? Make sure to bookmark nhltraderumor.com<\/a> for the absolute latest Edmonton Oilers news<\/a>. If you think you know who gets traded next, prove it! Join our Fantasy Hockey Pool<\/a> where you can compete for real cash prizes against other armchair GMs. Also, don\u2019t miss a minute of the action\u2014check out our dedicated schedule page to find out how to watch the Oilers game on TV today<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our newsletter below to get breaking rumors sent directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edmonton’s Andrew Mangiapane (left) and Anaheim’s Ryan Strome (right) compete for a loose puck along the boards. Both…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":390782,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5125],"tags":[233,1824,198,146,5300,2300,5,4,24196,24,6496],"class_list":{"0":"post-390781","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edmonton-oilers","8":"tag-anaheim-ducks","9":"tag-andrew-mangiapane","10":"tag-edmonton","11":"tag-edmonton-oilers","12":"tag-edmontonoilers","13":"tag-elliotte-friedman","14":"tag-hockey","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-oiler-rumors","17":"tag-oilers","18":"tag-ryan-strome"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115838874056444689","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/390781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/390782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=390781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=390781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}