The New York Rangers have roster holes to address this offseason, of which the defense is the biggest priority, but they're also in desperate need of two-way forwards who can control play and make an impact no matter what line they are deployed on. One such player is Andrew Mangiapane, and adding him to the roster would be an obvious steal for President and General Manager Chris Drury.
Mangiapane is coming off a down year when evaluating him by the traditional numbers you'd find on NHL dot com, as he finished with 14 goals and assists for 28 points in 81 games played for the Washington Capitals. He did this logging just 13:02 which was way down from the 16:00 he averaged during his final year with the Calgary Flames. That campaign saw Mangiapane tally 40 points in 75 games, and it was his third year in a row in which he tallied at least 40 points.
if you dive a little deeper, Mangiapane's underlying numbers have been solid over the last three seasons, and those are the ones the Rangers should care about.
2024-25: 51.27 GF% | 53.01 CF% | 54.08 xGF%
2023-24: 50.04 GF% | 53.21 CF% | 50.90 xGF%
2022-23: 56.61 GF% | 58.82 CF% | 57.70 xGF%
These numbers, via Evolving-Hockey, are exactly what the Rangers need for their lineup as they lack forwards who can routinely possess the puck, generate offense, and also prevent goals against.
What's even more impressive is that Mangiapane is doing this standing just 5'11" and weighing 183 pounds, so he is able to make a significant impact even though he's on the smaller side. The defensive element is what would be most beneficial immediately, and I think in time the offense would return by virtue of who Mangiapane could play with.
This season the Capitals were +0.15 xGF per 60 minutes when Mangiapane was on the ice which was six percent better than league average. In terms of expected goals suppressed, the Capitals allowed -0.14 xGA per 60 minutes which was six percent less than league average. In totality, Mangiapane was worth +5.1 sG this season according to Hockey Viz, and that puts him in first line territory in terms of production level.
Mangiapane made $5.8 million for the last two seasons, and given that his traditional counting stats decline this year, which I believe was primarily because of a significant reduction in ice time, he's likely to command a salary much lower than that.
In the right situation Mangiapane has the potential to have a Carter Verhaeghe like impact situation, and that would see him be a 60 point player or higher at his absolute peak. Mangiapane did have 35 goals with the Flames back in 2021-22, and there's every reason to believe he could be a 30-goal scorer once again.
The Rangers have talented players in their system right now, but someone like Mangiapane would take things to another level. His versatility would enable Mike Sullivan to plug and play him on different lines, and his dual threat ability as a passer and scorer would add another dimension to the Rangers' offense.