One area that the Tampa Bay Lightning will likely aim to strengthen this summer is their forward group. They would benefit by adding more production in the bottom half of their lineup, and one player who would have the potential to give them that is Washington Capitals forward Andrew Mangiapane.
Mangiapane, 29, is a pending unrestricted free agent and will hit the market on July 1 if the Capitals do not re-sign him by then. If he is available this summer, he is a player the Lightning should seriously consider pursuing.
Mangiapane appeared in 81 regular-season games with the Capitals this season, posting 14 goals, 28 points, and 74 hits. Overall, it was a decent year for the 2015 sixth-round pick, but there is clear reason to believe that his offense could go up when looking at his previous campaigns.
In his previous three seasons before this one with the Calgary Flames, he posted at least 40 points in each of them. This included setting career highs with 35 goals and 55 points in 82 games with the Flames in 2021-22. With numbers like these, he could be a nice addition to the Lightning's top nine if he heats back up again.
On a short-term deal, Mangiapane could be a nice low-risk player for the Lightning to take a chance on. They need more secondary scoring, and Mangiapane gives just that when playing at his best. It will be intriguing to see if he ends up being on their radar this off-season from here, but the fit looks good on paper.
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