Detroit Red Wings: 4 players packing their bags at the Trade Deadline
By Bob Heyrman
Will Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha be traded?
This one hurts. I am a fan of Anthony Mantha despite providing the organization with his fair share of his spotty efforts. I was a fan of Mantha before the Detroit Red Wings drafted him 20th overall in the first round of the 2013 NHL Entry Level Draft.
Mantha had a rough road early on in his career, mostly due to what appeared like a lack of effort. Head coach Jeff Blashill often skated the 6-foot-5, 235-pound power forward on the teams’ fourth line.
The 26-year old sniper has all the tools to be a tremendous top-six forward in this league, but he struggles to put it all together on a nightly basis. He’s often caught puck-watching rather than keeping his feet moving, which is enough to give any coach an ulcer.
If Dylan Larkin is considered to be ‘untouchable,’ Mantha will be Yzerman’s biggest trade chip leading up to the deadline.
Mantha is under contract for the remainder of this season, plus an additional three more years carrying a contract that averages $5.7 million per season. The money seems fair for a potential 30-goal scorer that seems always to finish around 25 in an 82 game season.
In 41 games this season, Mantha has 10 goals and 10 assists, averaging just over 18-minutes of ice-time per evening. He’s also maintaining a Corsi For Percentage of 49.8 in 2021.
Understanding this isn’t a rental-type deal. Teams interested in adding Mantha will need to part ways with at least a first-round pick, plus a couple of highly regarded prospects, and likely another mid-round draft pick to entice the Red Wings to take an expiring contract to make the money work.
A couple of teams that come to mind are the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Minnesota Wild, and Pittsburgh Penguins.