I get that Mangiapane is younger and cheaper, fair enough for valuing him higher. However, this idea that he is a first line winger or should only be moved in a package for a 1C is pretty far fetched.

Also, Bennett for Donskoi + 2nd/3rd is awful for Colorado. Bennett is a 4th liner with a proclivity for dumb penalties. Donskoi has paced 50 points whenever he's been healthy for the Avs (i.e. the first half of last season until his concussion, then in the playoffs, and again this season).

Oh I agree about Mangiapagne if I were CGY I wouldn’t trade him, my pt was they are more alike than not.

As for Bennett that **** is probably Calgary’s most overrated player. Guy has one decent play off series every couple of years and people forget what he is, a bottom 6 guy with aspirations of being a top 6 guy. Mangiapagne way deserves those minutes over him, there are very few players I would like less in an Avs uniform than Bennett.

I never said he should be moved for a 1C, I said that the Flames would need a significant return to move him. I don't think he is a top line player, but with the way things have gone for Calgary, it probably wouldn't hurt to see what he can do.

The reason such a move (Bennett and Donskoi) makes sense is that Donskoi is about to be 29 and has two more years left on his contract at $3.9M. Bennett is awful, I agree, but he's only got this year at $2.5M on his contract. He could easily be re-signed at a sub $1M contract, traded for a pick, or just let walk come the summer. Donskoi has been good enough for Colorado, but it hardly seems reasonable to imagine his best years are yet to come and moving that contract would open up money to bring in a more efficient player for that role. Though the Avs have some money coming off the books next year, having to re-sign Makar, Landeskog, and Grubauer is either going to cost a lot or require some creativity. So though it seems egregious to include a pick with Donskoi, taking on that kind of cap commitment is no small thing, and would require some kind of compensation on behalf of the Avs.

Cap flexibility would indeed be nice, but Donskoi has been pretty productive for the Avs for the most part, pacing 50+ points in the regular season and playoffs apart from a couple of stretches immediately after getting concussions. He's a decent player to have on the 3rd line who can slide into the top 6 on ocasssion.