Flames Keep Sniper Mangiapane in Fold with Three-Year Deal on Eve of Demands

What a day for the Calgary Flames.

After an offseason that spiraled early, Flames GM Brad Treliving has been knocking items off his to-do list with gusto.

Hours after announcing a deal to keep defenceman Oliver Kylington out of arbitration, the Flames settled with winger Andrew Mangiapane. On the eve of the release of each side’s arbitration demands, no less.

Mangipane signed a three-year, $17.4 million contract (an AAV of $5.8M) to stay with the Calgary Flames. Had he opted to reject the offer, he could have become an unrestricted free agent next summer. The two sides were scheduled for a hearing on Friday.

With Kylington inking a two-year, $5-million deal earlier in the day, the Flames have wrapped up their big internal checklist in a tidy bow. Only RFA prospect Adam Ruzicka remains without a contract.

Amid these important negotiations — which leave the Flames with about $3M in salary cap space barring additional moves — Treliving even made the time to visit Jonathan Huberdeau in Montreal on Monday.

Mangiapane is coming off a career season. He scored 35 goals and 55 points, playing all 82 games. There was even buzz about the 26-year-old earning his way into the Olympic conversation for Team Canada.

Production impressive given ice time with Flames

His impressive offensive production came despite the fact he averaged just 15:44 per game last season. That ranked 12th on the team and fifth among forwards.

With two of the team’s three 40-goal scorers — Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk — gone, opportunity awaits Mangiapane.

“Andrew, I can tell you, his objective is to score 40, 45 goals this year,” Mangiapane’s agent Ritch Winter said a couple of weeks ago on the Eric Francis Show on Sportsnet 960. “He believes it’s something that should be expected of him with more opportunity.”

As far as Calgary Flames line combinations go, Mangiapane could get a shot on the top trio. He’d fit nicely with Elias Lindholm and Huberdeau. Or, he could stick with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, with that line having success late in the season and into the playoffs.

Maybe the extra minutes will come on the powerplay with special teams goal leader Tkachuk now a member of the Florida Panthers.

Regardless of his linemates and ice time, the team will be relying on him to play the hard-nosed style that got him to this point as a sixth-round draft pick.

And despite cashing in with his biggest contract to date, there’s no doubt the Calgary Flames will get exactly that.