Detroit Red Wings: More should be expected from Anthony Mantha
By Tyler Kotila
The Detroit Red Wings should be expecting more from forward Anthony Mantha. Yes, even on this rebuilding Red Wings roster, Mantha should be held to a standard. He got off to a slow start, and some fingers were pointed, but he should still be expected to find the back of the net more.
So far in 2020-21, Mantha’s performance has been underwhelming for the Detroit Red Wings, not looking like the forward he has been in the past. This offseason, he was rewarded with a nice contract extension from General Manager (GM) Steve Yzerman as well.
It may have been more of a team-friendly deal, but Mantha’s four-year extension with the Red Wings keeps him locked into the Red Wings top six as long as he can find the back of the net. While yes, he is tied for the team lead in goals, Mantha needs to be able to score more.
Currently, he and Bobby Ryan are battling for the team-lead in goals. While this is great for Ryan, who could play his way into the trade market and possibly play his way out of Detroit before the trade deadline, Mantha needs to be scoring more.
Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha needs to be producing more offense.
The Detroit Red Wings may not score a whole lot as it is, but Mantha has proven he can still find a way to score, and he has simply just not done this as much as fans would hope during the 2021 season.
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In the 25 games that Mantha has played, he has collected six goals and four assists, giving him ten total points overall.
This is tied for third on the team in points, with Dylan Larkin and Ryan being ahead of him on the leaderboard.
Mantha is also a minus-16 rating on the season, which is much worse than he has been in past seasons.
While this season is only 56 games long rather than the usual 82, the sharp downturn through half of the shortened season is still a little worrisome.
As the Red Wings continue through this rebuild, they should be able to count on Mantha to create some offense and score some goals. The fact that he has taken a step back as it seems in 2020-21 is a little concerning.
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However, with the Red Wings being in a rebuild, Mantha has time to figure things out and get right. Regardless of this, the Detroit Red Wings organization should be expecting more out of Mantha after rewarding him with a four-year contract extension this past offseason.