Andrew Mangiapane is maintaining his place in the Edmonton Oilers organization after clearing waivers on Monday. Alongside him, teammate Alec Regula also cleared, as reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
In related news, the Minnesota Wild claimed Robby Fabbri off waivers from the St. Louis Blues, while players Luke Kunin of the Florida Panthers and Guillaume Brisebois of the Vancouver Canucks also successfully cleared waivers. Additionally, new players placed on waivers include Detroit Red Wings defenseman Erik Gustafsson, Seattle Kraken defenseman Gustav Olofsson, and Wild forward Tyler Pitlick.
Mangiapane, who signed a two-year, $7.2 million contract with the Oilers on July 1, was expected to bolster the team’s offensive lineup, particularly behind superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. However, his performance this season has been underwhelming, with only seven goals and seven assists recorded in 52 games, along with a career-worst plus/minus rating of minus-19. The Toronto native, in his ninth NHL season, has previously experienced success with three 20-goal seasons but has faced challenges this year, including multiple healthy scratches.
Despite Mangiapane’s struggles, Oilers general manager Stan Bowman clarified that the decision to keep him was driven by salary-cap considerations rather than individual performance.
Mangiapane, who was drafted in the sixth round (166th overall) by the Calgary Flames in the 2015 NHL Draft, boasts a career total of 257 points (130 goals, 127 assists) over 550 games played, having previously represented teams like Calgary and Washington. Regula has also seen difficulties this season, contributing three assists and a minus-16 rating in 29 games, recently spending time in the AHL for conditioning.
In terms of the players waived, Fabbri, 30, has only managed one goal and three assists in 15 games for the Blues. Pitlick, 34, has contributed two points — both goals — in 32 games with the Wild, while Gustafsson, 33, has appeared in just two games without any points for the Red Wings. Olofsson, 31, has not participated in an NHL game for the past two seasons. For the Panthers, Kunin has played 44 games this season, tallying two goals and two assists, while Brisebois has yet to skate in a game with the Canucks this year.
The situation around these players underscores the constant shifts and challenges within NHL lineups as teams strive to find the right mix to succeed, offering hope for a turnaround as they seek to harness the talent within their ranks.