When the Detroit Red Wings last had Anthony Mantha on the roster, the team was in the early days of its rebuild. Mantha was a Ken Holland-era first round pick that hadn't developed into the 30-40 goal scorer many had hoped he'd become. It was clear that, at that point in time, both parties needed a fresh start. Thus, Mantha went to the Washington Capitals for first and second round picks, Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik.
Since then, Mantha has played for four teams: the Capitals, the Vegas Golden Knights, the Calgary Flames and now the Pittsburgh Penguins. This last season was Mantha's best in his career. In 81 games with the Penguins, the winger posted 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points. According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, it doesn't look like Mantha will be returning to Pittsburgh next season.
With an underwhelming free agency class on the horizon, could the Red Wings seek a reunion with their old first round pick?
What Mantha could bring to the table
As stated earlier, Mantha had his most productive season in his career, capping off a 64-point campaign with the Penguins. Even if he never reaches that number again, having a 50-55 point winger on the roster would benefit the team's depth greatly.
The Red Wings struggled with even strength scoring throughout the season, with the majority of the team's goals coming from power play goals. Mantha only scored seven power play goals this season, with the majority of his production coming from 5v5 play. Adding a good even-strength scorer to the roster would help bring the Red Wings' goal differential up from the abysmal -17 goal differential it held this last season.
Why signing Mantha is a bad idea
That said, it's hard to justify signing a player like Mantha due to the sheer glut of Mantha-like players already on the roster. Every season, the Red Wings sign a free agent coming off a career year. Like clockwork, these players tend to regress, their production dipping as the season progresses. Andrew Copp, J.T. Compher and Ben Chiarot all joined the Red Wings after hitting career high numbers only to regress back to the mean.
Of all the free agents available this offseason, Mantha is the most likely to regress back to a 40-45 point player. The Red Wings already have their fair share of underperforming veterans on this roster. Mantha is a known commodity in Detroit. Both the fans and the front office alike know his strengths and weaknesses. One of the biggest issues the Red Wings faced this last season was consistency, and Mantha is far from a consistent player.
Additionally, adding Mantha would only logjam the top-six, preventing a player like Michael Brandsegg-Nygard from earning a higher-end roster spot.
Mantha is due for a longer-term payday with term. The Red Wings should not be the team to give it to him.
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