Penguins’ Biggest X-Factor: Anthony Mantha
Following much speculation of the Pittsburgh Penguins possibly moving Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson this offseason, all three are still with the team, with less than two weeks before the start of preseason.As expected by most, Penguins’ president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas, didn’t make any aggressive moves in the offseason. Instead, opting to sign a few veterans on team-friendly deals. One of those veterans was right winger Anthony Mantha.
On July 2nd, the Penguins and Mantha agreed to terms on a one-year contract for $2.5 million, which includes another $2 million in performance bonuses.
Mantha spent the first six seasons of his NHL career playing for the Detroit Red Wings. He tallied 24 goals with them in 2017-18, and had 25 goals in 2018-19.
Combined with the Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights in 2023-24, Mantha put up 23 goals.
Last offseason, the 30-year-old forward inked a one-year deal worth $3.5 million with the Calgary Flames.
Unfortunately, Mantha’s tenure for Calgary would be short-lived, as he suffered an ACL injury on November 5th. A week later, the Flames announced that Mantha underwent season-ending surgery.
In my opinion, Mantha will be the biggest X-Factor for the Penguins this season. Although Mantha is capable of being a 20-goal scorer, he is returning from a serious injury, so there could be an adjustment period early on in the season.
Assuming Mantha returns to full health, and performs at his usual level, as a third line contributor, then perhaps the Pens could use him as a trade piece at the deadline, to get back a decent prospect, if they were to fall out of playoff contention.