Detroit Red Wings: Anthony Mantha contract talks affected by delay
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings season is on pause, which is going to play a factor in Anthony Mantha’s contract talks this offseason.
Going into the offseason, Anthony Mantha is going to be a restricted free agent this summer for the Detroit Red Wings. He is one of the many restricted free agents the Red Wings will have on the slate this offseason.
Mantha is poised for a nice payday, but with an injury shortening his season and now the season is on pause, it may affect his contract talks. Looking at Mantha’s season, he had the year cut short after getting dropped along the boards by Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin back in December of 2019.
After returning to the lineup, he would get to play in fourteen games before the season was put on pause with the outbreak of COVID-19. Mantha started the season on an absolute tear for the Red Wings and was going to be an all-star before his injury.
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All-in-all, Mantha played in forty-three games while scoring sixteen goals and notching twenty-two assists on the season.
He was averaging the highest average time on ice. of his career at 18:54 through his limited games.
The 6-foot-5, 234-pound winger re-signed with the Red Wings back in the summer of 2018 to extend his time with the Red Wings.
The 2018 extension would be a two-year deal worth $6.6 million split for $3.3 million each of the last two seasons. Now twenty-five, Mantha is primed to get a nice raise and be an integral part of this team, but things could get interesting with negotiations.
Pay attention this summer (or whenever free agency gets pushed to) when Mantha asks for a boatload of money, the Red Wings may be hesitant to overpay after his season was cut a bit short with the injury.
He has still performed very well, even being on shortened time in 2019. The thing that fares well for Mantha’s request for a big payday will be the amount of cap space the Red Wings possess going into the 2020-21 season.
Free agency may be delayed a bit this season with the talks of the season being continued into the summer with the remainder of the season, playoffs, and draft still to take place. The Red Wings will be able to bring Mantha back with ease, but the interesting thing will be what is the price tag associated with his signing will be.
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With the season being on pause, keep an eye on when free agency will even be and when Mantha will re-sign with the Detroit Red Wings.