ANAHEIM — Here we are again. Another “recovery” deadline for the Edmonton Oilers.
On July 1, 2024, acting general manager Jeff Jackson blew $7 million on free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner, both of whom would be healthy-scratched in the ensuing Stanley Cup Final. Both moved on at season’s end and neither helped the Oilers win in any measurable way, a July 1 wasted for a team that still made it to within two wins of a Stanley Cup.
On July 1, 2025, Stan Bowman stepped up to the plate and allotted $7.5 million in cap space to two players — Andrew Mangiapane and Trent Frederic. Together they have been healthy scratched 12 times this season and combined for eight goals in a 104 man games.
As the March 6 trade deadline nears, Bowman’s two July 1 wingers are a bit of a disaster: Frederic, who has one point in his past 32 games and just three points all season long; and Mangiapane, a team-worst minus-21 and provider of a scant 12 points who has been on the market longer than old cheese.
Bowman will attach a draft pick or prospect to Mangiapane to recycle that cap space over the next two weeks, covering his racks at a cost. But that pales to the thought of Frederic’s deal: an eight-year, $30 million albatross and a top 5 worst contract in the entire National Hockey League.
Now, Bowman has made some savvy moves along the way. But imagine if this team improved itself on July 1 rather than enduring consecutive misses?
Would they have a Stanley Cup by now?
Inside the visitor’s dressing room at The Pond in Anaheim, both Mangiapane and Frederic are loose and ready to turn their fortunes around, having enjoyed the Olympic respite from what has likely been the most difficult time in either’s career.
“I just tried to enjoy my time away from hockey, watch the Olympics, some great hockey,” Frederic said. “It was good to kind of get away and not think about hockey for a bit, in all honesty.”
Mangiapane’s break was similar, spent at home in Toronto with extended family. There, the Mangiapane’s new baby boy, AJ, was baptized in the presence of grandparents, aunts and uncles.
“I feel like every meal was pasta, bread…,” Mangiapane chuckled. “Just went back home, brought my gear there, and went on the ice and trained. Got back (to Edmonton), worked out, trained, and just kind of stayed ready physically.
“The mental aspect was a good break, just for a little reset, being around friends and family. Be positive and just enjoy the game again.”
The two are in wildly different situations, with Mangiapane almost certain to be moved in the next handful of days to a fresh start in a new town.
But Frederic? He isn’t going anywhere.
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Under the glare of the Canadian spotlight, he’s going to have to figure this out. Or it will be a looooong career, playing it out at a little less than a point-per-month in Edmonton.
“My life’s still great,” smiled Frederic, a nice young guy, like so many of these players. “The guys are all good about it. They treat you the same way if you’re having an MVP season or an LVP (least valuable player) season.
“It’s easy to get down. You just try not to let it bleed into your whole life,” he said. “But it’s hockey, and it is your whole life. So it can be tough.”
Mangiapane walked off the practice ice to a reporter waiting at his stall, but was in no way defensive. Instead, he kibitzed about the Olympic break, and the conversation moved on to children, grandchildren, then drifted into a lovely walk down memory lane with Jake Walman, a teammate from Mangiapane’s childhood.
“I remember when you left for Barrie. It was like, ‘Wow, Mang’s going to the (OHL)!’” Walman recalled.
“Time, it sure flies by,” said Mangiapane, who turns 30 in April and wouldn’t mind hanging around this dressing room a while longer. “You get close to these guys, right? Everyone in here is a great guy, and you do bond. You become family.
“It’s crazy how quick you formulate these friendships. You know they’ll last forever, but that’s the crazy part of the trade deadline. You’re here one day, and then maybe next day you’re gone.”
Mangiapane is doing what every player on every trade board has ever done: staying off social media and not reading stories like this one. Same with Frederic, and who’d blame him?
“That’s the only thing I can do,” Mangiapane said. “And if they still want to trade me, then they still want to trade me.”
Frederic, meanwhile, will return to seeking a tangible role on this Oilers roster. A defined gig of some sort.
Between him and head coach Kris Knoblauch, that’s become a bit of an elusive thing.
“People just like a role. You like to feel like you’re reliable in certain situations,” Frederic said. “Certain roles are obviously more fun than others. But at any point in your life, you just want a role and you want to be good at what you’re good at.
“Hopefully, I can find it here.”
