The Edmonton Oilers are doing what they can to improve their roster ahead of what they hope will be a lengthy playoff run. They’ve made two acquisitions so far, both of which have come through trades with the Chicago Blackhawks.
The first move saw the Oilers improve their back end by bringing in Connor Murphy. The move was met with enthusiasm from the fan base, as Murphy brings a steady, defensive presence which this team desperately needs. The second move, however, has plenty of critics.
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That second move saw the Oilers acquire forwards Jason Dickinson and Colton Dach. In exchange, they parted ways with Andrew Mangiapane and a 2027 first-round pick. Though both players can help the Oilers out, having to part ways with a first-round pick for two players that provide very little offence seems like an overpayment.
In reality, the first was included in large part to help the Oilers offload Mangiapane’s contract. The 29-year-old had signed a two-year, $7.2 million deal with the organization this past offseason. That signing has been a catastrophic failure and reflects extremely poorly on general manager (GM) Stan Bowman.
Mangiapane Contract Was a Disastrous Signing
Though there was some initial optimism regarding the Mangiapane contract, it quickly became clear that things weren’t going to work out. There was hope that he could help with secondary scoring, but was instead stuck playing a bottom-six role. His Oilers tenure has ended with him recording just seven goals and 14 points in 52 games.
It’s not often that a signing results in a player being traded later that same season, particularly for a Stanley Cup contender like the Oilers. The fact that management not only wanted to get rid of him so fast, but were willing to attach a first-round pick to do so displays plenty of incompetence.
Some will place blame on head coach Kris Knoblauch for not utilizing Mangiapane correctly. That’s a fair argument to make, but if that is the case, it shows a complete disconnect between management and coaching staff, which is it a problem in itself. You would think that there would have been a direct message to give their big offseason addition every possible opportunity to get comfortable in his new surroundings. This isn’t the first time this has happened, either.
The Oilers found themselves in a very similar issue in 2024-25, as two of their offseason signings in Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson didn’t work out at all. Luckily, Skinner’s deal was just one year, which allowed for them to walk away from him this past offseason. As for Arvidsson, management was able to get out of his contract by sending him to the Boston Bruins for a fifth-round pick.
Though neither Skinner nor Arvidsson winded up being too costly of mistakes, management was bound to get bit by one of these signings eventually, and that is the exact case with Mangiapane. Rather than being able to use that first-round pick to potentially bring in a difference maker, they’re bringing in a bottom-six centreman and a depth forward. It’s an extremely ugly situation for a team who should be making far bigger splashes with Connor McDavid on the roster.
Management Failures Continue to Plague Oilers
This Mangiapane debacle is one of several mistakes Oilers management have made over the years with McDavid on the roster. Whether it be Peter Chiarelli, Ken Holland, Jeff Jackson, or Bowman, this team continues to make baffling decisions which have played a big part as to why this core group has yet to win a Stanley Cup.
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While they will have more money to spend in the offseason thanks to ridding themselves of Mangiapane’s contract, they would have never needed to lose their first-round pick on such a trade had they simply not signed him in the first place. Who knows, perhaps Dickinson and Dach can prove to be bigger pieces than everyone envisions and help lead this team to a Cup. If not, this will be yet another managerial error for an organization that has had far too many of them in recent years.
