The Detroit Red Wings pulled off one of the 2021 NHL season's Trade Deadline's biggest moves, acquiring forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik along with a 1st and 2nd round draft pick in exchange for underachieving forward Anthony Mantha.
Of course, Red Wings fans are all too familiar with the fact that despite being clearly talented along with the body of a prototypical power forward, Mantha is prone to extreme laziness and stretches of play where he can be virtually invisible on the ice. The 2022-23 season was Mantha's first full year with Washington (he missed nearly half of the schedule last season with a shoulder injury), and he was extremely underwhelming, to say the least.
He was called out multiple times and even designated a healthy scratch on a handful of occasions by now-former head coach Peter Laviolette, and his career is truly entering a crossroads with Washington having missed the postseason. According to a report from The Washington Post, Mantha even utilized the services of a mental health coach.
But could his time in the nation's capital city be coming to a close? Don't be surprised, according to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff. He lists Mantha, who has one more season with an AAV of $5.7 million, as the No. 4 overall candidate for a contract buyout this summer:
"Buyout Structure: 2 seasons at $1,366,667 and $2,166,667
Scoop: Has there ever been a trade with both teams more dissatisfied in the result than Mantha for Jakub Vrana, a 1st, 2nd and Richard Panik? Probably not. The Capitals have let teams know that they’re ready to move on from Mantha, who was a healthy scratch at times last season. They’re likely going to have to attach a sweetener to that deal, so the buyout factor will probably have to be weighed. The thought might be that the only thing worse than Mantha for one more year at $5.7 million is two more seasons on your cap with Mantha. It all depends how aggressive GM Brian MacLellan wants to be reshaping the team. The argument could be made that the Caps are better off taking the buyout, finding a third line player at $3 million that they like better, and they’d still be $1.5 million south of Mantha’s current $5.7 million."
