The Edmonton Oilers are one of the best teams in the NHL at this time. They are firmly a contender for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And they will have a chance to avenge their defeats in the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last two seasons. However, the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline is going to be quite important.
The Oilers have made some big moves in recent deadlines. A couple seasons ago, they swung a trade for veteran center Adam Henrique. Last year, they traded for Jake Walman in a deal with the San Jose Sharks. Edmonton is willing to make big moves if they feel it can help its roster for the upcoming run.
This year is going to be a bit different, though. Edmonton has little to no cap space to work with. In fact, there is no team with less cap space than the Oilers across the NHL at this time. They have less than $800K to work with at this time, according to PuckPedia.
This figure will be a bit larger once the deadline rolls around, as trade deadline cap space accrues day by day. But they still won't have a ton of space to work with once the calendar flips to March 6th. The Oilers are in a dollar in, dollar out situation. Thankfully, there is one player Edmonton can trade if they want to bring in talent at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
Andrew Mangiapane has not worked out for Oilers
The Oilers signed Andrew Mangiapane in NHL Free Agency last summer, hoping he could provide needed scoring depth. Edmonton does not struggle offensively. Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl put in the bulk of the offensive workload. However, that's just the thing. Those two players essentially carry Edmonton's offense.
The team needed a bit of balance, and hoped Mangiapane could provide it. Unfortunately, things have not worked out well for him in Alberta. He has skated in 49 games for the Oilers this season, and has six goals along with six assists.
Manigapane has a rather solid track record, to be fair. He does have a 35-goal season under his belt. However, he is mainly a 14-18 goal scorer. He won't lead a team in goals for the most part. In the right situation, though, he could give you close to 20 goals and provide scoring when the stars have an off night.
However, this has not happened under Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch. Incredibly, Mangiapane is averaging slightly less than one shot per game. He has one of the worst goal differential rates at even strength across the entire league, as well.
When Mangiapane shoots the puck, good things happen. In fact, his 35-goal season came when he took a career high 185 shots. For whatever reason, the shots aren't coming. And as a result, the goals aren't, either.
The Oilers will need to move money out if they make any trade this season. Given Mangiapane's performance, getting his $3.6 million cap hit off the books would be a wise move. Especially considering that the veteran winger is signed through next season.
Sometimes, signings don't work out. Some are harder to get out of than others. However, Mangiapane's could be painless for all involved. He is a player the Oilers need to give a fresh start before the buzzer sounds on the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline.
