Although there are questions whether or not Matthew Tkachuk wants to stay with Flames long-term, same can’t be said for fellow winger André Mangiapane. Ritch Winter, the 26-year-old’s agent, told Sportsnet 960 (audio link) that his client is interested in a long-term contract to stay in Calgary:

I don’t want to get into negotiations – I agree with Brad’s (Treliving) view that it’s never really healthy for the process – but I think ultimately to admit that Andrew submitted a proposal on a multi-year agreement tells you that he is very interested in staying here despite the uncertainty surrounding Matthew Tkachuk.

Certainly, Andrew feels very comfortable with the coaching staff, he likes the management team here, he likes the city, he has good experience. He told them he was fully open to staying on a longer term contract.

Mangiapane has just completed a career season which saw him score 35 goals in 82 games while adding a career-high 20 assists at any level. Impressively, this came with a drop in ice time, as he averaged just 15:44 per game and was the only player in the top 30 in league-wide goals to have a average less than 17:40 per game. Mangiapane also contributed with three goals and three assists in a dozen post-season games.

Those numbers certainly bolster his value in his final year of RFA eligibility, as Mangiapane was one of 24 players to seek arbitration over the weekend. He received a qualifying offer of $2.45 million last week, although with the year he’s had his next deal could end up being closer to double that amount.

It stands to reason that what happens with Tkachuk could ultimately play a part in what kind of deal Mangiapane strikes. Although they have ample room to re-sign their RFAs (a group which also includes defender Oliver Kylington, another of 24 players to request a hearing), if Tkachuk ultimately moves on, general manager Brad Treliving may very well have to change course, in which case Mangiapane could go from secondary scorer to top-liner with the asking price changing accordingly. Arbitration hearings will start being scheduled from July 27 and will last a few weeks, so there is still time to reach a new agreement and see what happens with Tkachuk, but it seems that no matter what with him, Mangiapane hopes to stay in Calgary for a long time.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.