The Detroit Red Wings are going to be the team to follow heading into training camp, the preseason, and the upcoming 2026-27 season. That's because they need a new general manager after Steve Yzerman stepped down from the role last month. Not only that, but they'll have to come up with a decision on Dylan Larkin, who requested a trade back in June. Simply put, it has not been the offseason that Red Wings fans had in mind.
Besides that, the Red Wings did make some additions this offseason, signing Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year, $10 million contract and trading for Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar. As it turns out, the Red Wings were trying to add another top free agent this summer, and that's their former forward Anthony Mantha. Reporting from MLive's Ansar Khan revealed that Yzerman offered Mantha a one-year, $5 million contract in free agency. Two days later, Yzerman stepped down, and Mantha signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.
As it turns out, the Red Wings were not fully out on Mantha despite Yzerman stepping down. That was, until team owner Chris Ilitch stepped in.
Chris Ilitch stepped in for Anthony Mantha talks, and deal fell through
Despite Yzerman stepping down, the Red Wings were still in on Mantha. Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press reported that assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff still had a deal in place with Mantha, but the deal fell through after Ilitch deliberated.
“According to a person of knowledge of the situation, Ilitch’s hesitation in approving big signings cost the Wings two big signings: Steven Stamkos in 2024, and, on the same day Yzerman’s removal was announced, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff had a deal in place with Anthony Mantha, but it fell through while Ilitch deliberated," wrote Monarrez.
Mantha does not fit the bill of "big signing" in any other year, but in 2026, he stood out as one of the top forwards in one of the weakest free agency classes in recent memory. So, he's technically a top signing. Even though Yzerman and Horcoff tried to get a deal done, Ilitch appeared to show some apprehension about giving him big money in free agency. Given Mantha's track record, you can't blame Ilitch too much. But, Ilitch better hope Mantha doesn't thrive in New Jersey.
Red Wings were right to pass on one-year wonder Anthony Mantha
Mantha began his career with the Red Wings, where he was a relatively consistent 15-plus goal scorer during his six years with the team. In two of those years, Mantha scored more than 20 goals. The red Wings would certainly sign up for that goal production, but on an annual basis. The thing is, though, Mantha's production fluctuated after his time with the Red Wings.
During his time between the Washington Capitals Vegas Golden Knights and Calgary Flames, Mantha scored over 20 goals just once, and that was during the 2023-24 season, where he tallied 23. In the 2024-25 season in Calgary, Mantha played in just 13 games due to an ACL injury.
Mantha signed a one-year deal with the Penguins last season, and with another chance to hit free agency, had a great year. More accurately, Mantha had the prototypical "walk year" season in which he vastly exceeded expectations, and thus raised his price tag to a much higher number than fans and teams were anticipating. In 81 games, Mantha scored 33 goals while recording 31 assists for 64 points, all of which are career-highs.
As it turns out, it did take a while for Mantha to sign with a new team in free agency, two weeks since the opening of free agency on July 1, before deciding to join the Devils.
If Mantha did decide to go back to Detroit to continue his career, would he really have put up the numbers like he did with Pittsburgh? If Larkin does get traded, the offense, as a whole, will get worse. The ideal scenario would have been Mantha lining up with Larkin, which likely would have put him in line to continue scoring at a high pace. But without Larkin, who would be setting up Mantha in Detroit at center? Andrew Copp? Marco Kasper? That's not exactly ideal for him.
Signing Mantha to big money, regardless of the team, was always going to be a risk. But with Detroit, it may very well have been disastrous. But now, he's on a Devils team that has a much better top six forward group that Mantha will slot into now. If he does manage to put up Pittsburgh-style numbers in New Jersey over the next two years, while Detroit struggles, all eyes will be on Ilitch for passing on signing him. On the flip side, Ilitch will look smart if Mantha doesn't come close to living up to his contract.
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