The Pittsburgh Penguins are staring down their second straight offseason chock-full of change. Most of those adjustments are likely to come within the lineup the Penguins are already being linked to outside names.
Reilly Smith leads the way as the most likely Penguin to be traded, but who could the organization be looking for in return? The Fourth Period has already linked the Penguins to Oliver Wahlstrom, but a sniper from the Western Conference might be on their radar.
According to the Fourth Period, the Penguins have been linked to Andrew Mangiapane of the Calgary Flames. At 28 years old, Mangiapane might be a little over the age of what the Penguins are looking for, but he can bring a lot to the table.
Mangiapane exploded in 2021-22, scoring a career high 35 goals in 82 games. He hasn’t had the same production in the seasons following, but neither have the Flames. Over his 417-game career, he has scored 109 goals.
When he scored those 35 goals, Mangiapane was the Flames fourth-leading goal, scorer. Matthew Tkachuk, Elias Lindholm, and Johnny Gaudreau all had over 40. The Flames goal scoring has been declining ever since.
It’s clear Mangiapane has the scoring ability; he just needs the right teammates around him to help him out. The Penguins would make a good fit, expecially if they fill him in next to Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.
