The Edmonton Oilers club that hits the ice for Training Camp later this month is going to look considerably different than the team that skated off the ice at Amerant Bank Arena in dejection following their second consecutive loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers.
Multiple notable names were subtracted from the roster, either through free agency departures or outright trades, as was the case in forward Evander Kane. He was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in a rare deal between Pacific Division rivals, while Viktor Arvidsson was dealt to the Boston Bruins.
Corey Perry signed as a free-agent with the Los Angeles Kings, as did Jeff Skinner with the San Jose Sharks and Connor Brown with the New Jersey Devils.
Who Did the Oilers Sign During the Offseason?
Despite their multiple roster losses, the Oilers did bring in a handful of new faces. Among the arriving new players is former Washington Capitals forward Andrew Mangiapane, who agreed to a two-year, $7.2 million contract.
They also acquired former Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Right now, it’s not clear whether former 54-goal scoring forward Zach Hyman, who suffered a season-ending injury during Edmonton’s Western Conference Final tilt against the Dallas Stars, will be ready in time to begin the new season.
During a recent column for The Athletic, journalist Allan Mitchell opined that Mangiapane could potentially begin the new season on Edmonton’s top line alongside Connor McDavid.
“Hyman’s status for the regular season will come into view in the weeks to come,” Mitchell wrote. “During the period when lines were being contemplated without injury worries, McDavid and Hyman were most often mentioned as running with veteran free-agent pickup Mangiapane. A second line of Draisaitl in the middle with Podkolzin and Savoie was also popular, and the third line housed Nugent-Hopkins with rookie Howard and veteran Frederic.”
A native of Bolton, Canada, Mangiapane was selected by Edmonton’s arch-provincial rival, the Calgary Flames, in 2015 with the 166th overall pick. He played the first handful of years of his NHL career in a Flames uniform, which included a tilt in the 2022 Western Conference Semifinal against the Oilers.
Only months after appearing in his 400th career NHL game with the Flames, he would be dealt to the Capitals. During his first and only season in Washington, he tallied 14 goals with 14 assists, a 12-point drop-off from his production in his final season with the Flames.
