Although there was a subtle expectation that he would eventually be put on the trading block, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports that Washington Capitals’ forward Anthony Mantha has officially been put on the trade block. Mantha will be entering the final year of a 4-year, $22.8MM contract extension that he signed with the Detroit Red Wings after the start of the 2020-21 NHL season.
In Mantha’s case, it will be particularly hard to gauge the potential trade value he might bring to the market this offseason. On one end, he has shown flashes in the past of being a potential 30-goal scorer at the professional level but has also shown flashes of being a pure salary dump.
This season, playing on a struggling Washington team, Mantha played in 67 games, scoring 11 goals and 16 assists. It was a far cry from the 49-goal and 96-point pace he carried in Detroit between 2017-19.
Simply to hypothesize, there are actually a few teams that may benefit from the style of game that Mantha would ultimately bring to a team. Although not maximizing his full offensive potential up to this point, Mantha has excelled throughout his career in terms of possession. His career average of 57.0 is by no means at the top of the NHL but would generally be regarded as a solid number for most players.
He’s a slug
Has to be. His microstats suggest he should be way more productive than he is.
Mantha’s a pure cap dump. Might be able to give him away for future considerations, but that’s likely the best case scenario. And it might be worth it, as he’s the most realistic avenue to freeing up cap space (Backstrom, Oshie, Kuznetsov, and Carlson all have 10-15 team no trade clauses).
Eat half of his salary and you might get a 5th or 6th rd pick in return
Mike Hoffman for Anthony Mantha.
I year, One million at best, This is a prove your relevance.
I hear Germany and Switzerland are lovely in the winter. Ask your agent about them, big fella.
He has the potential but is a total head case. Ken Holland would probably take him but had no cap room
If this is a pure salary dump, the one team that comes to mind will the the Blackhawks. They still need to hit the cap floor. It’s for a one year deal, which fits their timeline, and they could easily eat all the money or take on most of it. Could get a decent draft pick or prospect out of it.
No, you would have to add to Mantha, sorry.
Did I read that wrong? When was Mantha ever at a 49g 96p pace? Thats what he put up those 2 seasons combined in 130ish games?
@Justajaysfan – Looks like that’s been corrected above.
He is lazy and devoid of physical play.