Restricted Free Agent Anthony Mantha re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings. Let’s take a look at what we can expect from Mantha and others.
Per Ansar Khan of MLive.com, the Detroit Red Wings have re-signed Restricted Free Agent Anthony Mantha to a 2 year 6.6 Million dollar deal.
The power forward is expected to take a step in the right direction this year. At times, Mantha seemed to put forth little effort, but the Red Wings need Anthony to be a much more consistent player.
The effort needs to be there on a nightly basis. I’ve always expected Anthony Mantha to score and produce offensively but the inconsistent play has attributed to his inability to reach the 30 Goal mark thus far in his young career.
Mantha, still quite young, has big-time potential to be that impact player the Detroit Red Wings thought he could be when they drafted him. The 3.3 AAV per is a sweet deal that works for both parties.
Anthony Mantha doesn’t have the same skating ability as a Dylan Larkin or Andreas Athanasiou. Mantha needs to create his time and space differently. I would like to see Mantha on the body more this year than he has been in years past.
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If he would use his large frame in the corners more and in on the forecheck as well, he could become a force. By doing this, he would back opponents off, creating just a little more space for himself.
Anthony Mantha, to have a successful career, needs to show up to the rink in a bad mood more often. What I mean is that he should set the tempo early on in games by engaging physically.
Mantha has a sniper’s shot in a power forwards body. The more opportunities he has to let shots go bodes well for the Red Wings.
With Anthony Mantha locked up this leaves one final Restricted Free Agent on the current Wings left to sign. Dylan Larkin. They saved the best for last I guess.
Dylan Larkin the speedy center who rebounded quite nicely in 2017/2018 should be getting a nice pay raise in the coming days. If I’m Detroit, I make signing Dylan Larkin long-term a priority. The bounce back season last year showed he could handle the pressure of a slump and rebound.
Larkin moved to his natural center position last year exclusively and it paid off in the stat column. At times, before last season, Larkin bounced from center to wing on a nightly basis due to lack of defensive trust.
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Dylan had to prove he could be trusted down the middle of the Red Wing line up, reliable in all three zones all the time. Larkin earned the trust of coach Jeff Blashill, and it paid off throughout the year.
I expect Dylan Larkin will be re-signed fairly soon.