Let's yap about an unlikely Star: Andrew Mangiapane

It's not the dumbest idea.

Look out for my D Magazine piece in the next thirty minutes to an hour where I talk more about the Dallas Stars in the broad strokes. You’re probably sick of these and just want to get back to Stars talk — especially with news of the Mikko Rantanen injury — but it’s coming!

Edmonton made a modest bet that Andrew Mangiapane might bounce back to the 40-point form he was known for with Calgary. With 12 points in 49 games with the Oilers, that bet did not pay off. An early stint with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins failed to yield the returns Stan Bowman hoped, and neither did his stint with Adam Henrique and Matt Savoie.

That leaves the veteran winger on the trade board with what will likely be very few takers. It wouldn’t shock me if Mangiapane earned a pick attached just to take on his $3.6 million contract that doesn’t take him to UFA status until 2028.

So why profile him? Because Mangiapane is already the winger that Justin Hryckowian and Mavrik Bourque have potential to turn into. The real question is whether or not he can bounce back to his previous form, which is not the gamble it seems. Mangiapane played with McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins when Edmonton was at their worst as a team. At 29 years of age, there’s no reason to think a team can’t maximize next season and this.

Could he be the marginal upgrade that Dallas could use? No. But let’s look at him anyway.

On the surface, Mangiapane has below average impacts on offense, defense, and the only thing he’s a net gain on — at least this year — is his ability to avoid penalties, and draw them.

So that’s not a good look, but what if we check some of his microstats from last season? Under this light, we see a little more about his performance versus his impacts, which are pretty solid. Adding quickness, forechecking ability, and a two-way presence not that long ago are quite appealing.

The end result throughout his career and what we can expect in the future is a player that provides somewhat of a milquetoast profile, at least from shift to shift.

Case closed, right?

Pretty much. I think the case for Mangiapane, while weak, still loosely checks out. His ceiling is higher than Hryckowian and Bourque, and he’s more versatile as someone with experience on both flanks. While he is by no means an analytics darling, he is inoffensive at even-strength (not the greatest selling point for a forward I know), whose game the team won’t have to worry about.

His cost will also only come in cap. Obviously, there’s no reason to entertain a player that will cost going into next season. But what if Dallas got another team to retain half of Mangiapane’s salary while taking back another roster player, like say, Sam Steel? In that scenario, the Stars actually gain salary back (however meager), making the Jason Robertson timeline moot. Of course, Mangiapane has a no trade clause, which complicates things. But given that he’s been a healthy scratch, it’s hard to envision him wanting to stay in the first place, even if this gives him and his agent leverage on where he goes (to say nothing of the fact that Dallas is a familiar foe for the Oilers in the postseason).

I still like Mangiapane’s transition ability, which Hyrckowian and Bourque are particularly weak at. I don’t believe that’s irrelevant. Nonetheless, Mangiapane profiles like a player that would help Dallas, but making it work might also simply be a case of galaxy brain syndrome.