A trade broken by Kevin Weekes, the Detroit Red Wings have traded Anthony Mantha to the Washington Capitals. In exchange the Red Wings will receive forward Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik. Pierre LeBrun later added that a first-round and second-round pick were also involved in the trade.
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Mantha is a high-ceiling scoring winger with strong two-way ability. He’s not having the greatest season in 2021 but he was fantastic in 2019-20, scoring 16 goals and 38 points in 43 games for a terrible Red Wings team. For the Capitals, while Mantha is only 26 and locked into a long-term deal at $5.7 million until the end of 2023-24, this is a huge haul to give up. If Washington is getting the Mantha of last year, they’ll be elated. If not… oh boy.
At his best, Mantha is a 30-goal guy who can score. He’s big but he’s been in and out, hopefully taking on a bigger piece of the offense. Detroit couldn’t find the consistency they needed out of him. In Washington, they might not need him to be such a big part of the puzzle and with less responsibility, he could be a significant piece of their offense.
The Caps get some cost certainty here with Mantha having just signed a long-term contract. LeBrun said, “My guess is the Caps view this as two trades in one: 1) Panik plus a pick to relieve them of $2.75M in flap cap environment going forward with 2 more years on that contract; 2) Then Vrana plus a pick for Mantha.”
Sources say Detroit started to consider moving Mantha as a trade option within the past few weeks and did an excellent job of keeping it under the radar.
What the Red Wings Are Getting
Vrana is a strong player who can score big goals. He’s quick and can score. He will be a player that will get a bump in pay this season as a pending RFA with salary arbitration rights. He’s finishing off this season on a $3.35 million contract.
Vrana will get a huge opportunity in Detroit and it will be interesting to see how he does in an elevated role. This could be a massive win for GM Steve Yzerman.
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