Capitals’ Andrew Mangiapane Has Big Contract Season Ahead
Former Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan made a couple trades this offseason to potentially boost the offensive production for the team in 2024-25. The first deal was for Pierre-Luc Dubois, who he acquired from the Los Angeles Kings for goalie Darcy Kuemper. The other trade was acquiring winger Andrew Mangiapane from the Calgary Flames. The full deal was the Capitals getting Mangiapane in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick.
Similar to defenseman Jakob Chychrun, Mangiapane currently has one season left on his current contract. His salary cap hit is $5.8 million. Both Mangiapane and the Capitals have to see how well the fit is for both sides. If Washington and the 28-year-old like how everything is going, a contract extension could be in the near future.
Andrew Mangiapane’s Offense in Calgary
Andrew Mangiapane suited up for the Calgary Flames for parts of seven seasons. He made his NHL debut for the club during the 2017-18 campaign. He played in 10 games and did not register a point. 2018-19 is when Mangiapane’s offense started to pick up for the Flames. In 44 games, he scored eight goals and produced five assists for 13 points. He continued to build on each campaign with more offense. The 2019-20 season had Mangiapane net 17 goals and accrue 15 assists for 32 points in 68 games.
All of Mangiapane’s offensive stats with the Flames are below:
- 2017-18: zero points in 10 games
- 2018-19: eight goals and five assists for 13 points in 44 games
- 2019-20: 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points in 68 games
- 2020-21: 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points in 56 games
- 2021-22: 35 goals and 20 assists for 55 points in 82 games
- 2022-23: 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points in 82 games
- 2023-24: 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points in 75 games
Mangiapane also played in 27 playoff games for Calgary. He scored six goals and registered six assists for 12 points in that span.
The 2021-22 campaign stands out as the best so far in Mangiapane’s career. His 35 goals and 55 points remain his career highs. He was on an offense then that had also produced three 40-goal scorers in Johnny Gaudreau (40 goals), Matthew Tkachuk (42 goals), and Elias Lindholm (42 goals). Despite being around other star talent, Mangiapane proved that he is a skilled player in his own right. He has fallen off a bit in the goal department in recent seasons, but a new start in D.C. could potentially boost his production higher.
Finding the Right Fit on the Capitals
The Capitals will figure out who will bring out the best in Andrew Mangiapane. Head coach Spencer Carbery will have training camp and the preseason to figure out who fits well with who on each line. Former GM Brian MacLellan brought in other talents this summer as well; like Pierre-Luc Dubois, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, and Logan Thompson. Washington also brought back forward Jakub Vrana on a PTO agreement.
There is a lot of skill on the forward ranks. The Capitals still have Alex Ovechkin , Tom Wilson, and Dylan Strome who can rack up their share of points. Mangiapane could end up on a line with Dubois or Strome as his center. Maybe Carbery could try Mangiapane on a line with Ovechkin on the other side? Carbery could also see how he does with a younger center like Aliaksei Protas , Connor McMichael, or Hendrix Lapierre.
No matter who Mangiapane plays with, he has a big campaign ahead in D.C. Whether he stays with the Capitals or hits free agency in the 2025 offseason, he needs to have solid production this season. He can earn a big, long-term contract based a lot on how things go in 2024-25. Capitals fans will see how well he gels with the rest of the roster starting this fall.
