Major player-for-player trade scenario surfaces in Washington!
Potential trade with Eastern conference rival!
HockeyFeed
Several trade rumours have been emerging from Washington, with the Capitals working on potential transactions, including for forwards Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha.
Now, a perfect trade scenario has surfaced for the latter.
Mantha had a disappointing season with the Caps, and general manager Brian MacLellan is reportedly shopping him, looking to offer the forward yet another change of scenery. Back in April 2021, Mantha was traded from the Detroit Red Wings in a blockbuster deal prior to the trade deadline to the Capitals. He remains under contract for one more season at $5.7 million before hitting unrestricted free agency.
While some insiders believe the Capitals will need to add a sweetener to a potential deal due to his hefty contract, Blain Potvin of The Hockey Writers believes the Caps could sent Mantha to the Montreal Canadiens in a player-for-player swap. He wonders if Mantha could be traded to Montreal in return for forward Joel Armia.
The Habs would therefore take on Mantha’s full contract, which would allow the Capitals to immediately free up some cap space thanks to Armia’s lower annual salary of $3.4 million without parting with some aforementioned sweeteners.
The Canadiens would be a good spot for Mantha to come home too, and be an added advantage for the Capitals to make the deal work. Mantha would be given this much-needed change of scenery and could work under head coach Martin St. Louis, who has a way in helping players get back on track.
Mantha finished the year with just 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 67 games and was a healthy scratch on some occasions. This might be an ideal trade scenario for him. What do you think?
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