Edmonton Oilers
Devils Sign Anthony Mantha — But It’s Not What He Originally Wanted
Anthony Mantha signed a two-year deal with the New Jersey Devils with no trade poretction. Is that all the market would offer?
Two weeks into free agency, Anthony Mantha got his answer, and it wasn’t the one his camp was hoping for. The winger signed a two-year, $9.5M deal with the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday ($4.75M AAV, front-loaded 2026-27: $5.4M / 2027-28: $4.1M) — a contract that, on paper, doesn’t necessarily reward a career year.
Mantha just posted 33 goals and 64 points for Pittsburgh, both career highs, on a one-year “prove-it” deal worth $2.5M. He was projected quite high as a UFA that would get traction this summer, but names came off the board quickly, yet he was still available. Speculation was that he was asking for about $24 million over four years. Instead, he got two years and change — less than half the term.
It’s not that teams don’t believe he can score. He can. It’s how consistently that’s been the issue and when. He’s got zero playoff goals and tends to be hit-or-miss when the games mean more. 31 teams apparently watched the same tape and drew the same conclusion: this is who Mantha is now. He scored seven goals in his final nine regular-season games — and then didn’t score once in the playoffs. That’s not a new pattern. He’s a talented, oversized winger who can go on heaters and vanish just as easily.
So the market determined that, despite what Mantha was looking for, he wasn’t going to get it. There was chatter he would go to Montreal, but they reportedly never put a real offer on the table. Edmonton was pegged as a good fit, but they likely had a two-year limit and less money.
Will Mantha Do Well in New Jersey?
Mantha slots in as a big, natural shooter who can complement Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. New GM Sunny Mehta is making a calculated guess that Mantha will succeed in a role there. The Devils didn’t hand out a long-term commitment given Mantha’s history, but were open to a shorter-term swing. It could pay off.
The lack of trade protection is the tell. Two years, easy to move if it goes sideways, and cheap enough to absorb if it doesn’t. Given the way this market just spoke, it might be the most honest price anyone was willing to pay him.
Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes:
“Mantha let the Penguins know during the regular season that a three-year deal was his starting point for extension talks. The Penguins didn’t want to give him three years or more. Neither did anyone else, apparently. Penguins probably would have considered bringing Mantha back if they had known that would be the price…”
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