Capitals acquires Anthony Mantha of Red Wings for Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, and selects

The Washington Capitals have entered into another last minute deal by the deadline and it is a huge success.

The Caps swap 2018 Stanley Cup champions Jakub Vrana, Richard Panik, and a first and second round of the Detroit Red Wings for the forward Anthony Mantha.

The news was first reported by Kevin Weekes of NHL Network.

The news was later confirmed by Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.

Mantha was recently the best part of Detroit Red Wings. He’s a real strong driver of play with finishing talent. At 26, he is currently in his peak years and earns $ 5.7 million by 2023-24. In his best seasons of 2017-18 and 2018-19, Mantha scored 24 and 25 goals respectively and scored 48 points both years.

Mantha is also big and plays big. He is 6 feet-5 and weighs 234 pounds.

The trade ends the term of office of Jakub Vrana, a very popular player in the Capitals. Despite being one of the team’s top scorers, Vrana was recently scratched for two games by Peter Laviolette.

“We’ve had a lot of conversations about his game about its competitiveness and its speed,” Laviolette said. “He’s a very skilled player, but there are other aspects of the game that are very important … We are looking for a higher level of play.”

Vrana (25) scored 11 goals and 14 assists through 39 games. Its ice age has declined sharply over the past few weeks and sometimes dropped to almost ten minutes a night. During a game on March 9, Vrana, who was caught in the third period, stared at someone on the Capitals bench after scoring the overtime game.

Vrana planned to be a limited free agent this summer after completing a bridge deal (two-year $ 6.7 million contract).

Meanwhile, Panor was surpassed in times by Conor Sheary and Daniel Sprong and was recently released on bail. He scratched most of the matches that led to the deadline. Dealing with Panik gives the capitals now and in the years to come a further cap to possibly sign Alex Ovechkin again.

The Capitals also acquired in-depth forward Michael Raffl of the Philadelphia Flyers by the 15:00 deadline.

Here is the complete press release of the capitals:

Capitals Acquire Anthony Mantha of Detroit Red Wings

The Washington Capitals acquired Detroit Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, a first-round pick in 2021 and a second pick in 2022, said Brian MacLellan, senior vice president and general manager, announced today. Mantha was signed through the 2023-24 season with an AAV of $ 5.7 million.

Mantha, 26, a native of Longueuil, Quebec, has scored 21 points (11g, 10a) in 42 games with the Red Wings this season. The 6’5 ″, 234-pound forward led Detroit with 11 goals and second place with 21 points. Mantha led Detroit with 19 equal points (9g, 10a) and was tied for third with two powerplays.

During the 2019-20 season, Mantha finished third in the team in goals (16), finishing third in the forwards (22) and third in points (38), despite being played in only 43 of the team’s 71 games due to injury. Mantha was on course for his best statistical season in 2019-20, as his average of 0.88 points per game obscured his previous best of 0.71, which was achieved in the 2018-19 season when he scored a career high of 25 goals and Scored 48 points. 67 matches. In 302 career games, all with Detroit, Mantha collected 194 points (95g, 99a). Since his NHL debut on March 15, 2016, Mantha has been tied with Dylan Larkin for most goals on the Red Wings (95g) and has led the team in goals per game (0.31) during that team. In addition, Mantha Detroit has led in goals per game in two of the past four seasons (2017-18 and 2019-20) and has climbed into the top three in the team in goals in each of his five full NHL seasons (2016 – 2021). During this team, Mantha also led Detroit with a 52.5 shot effort percentage at five on five (4,079 in front, 3,677 against). Mantha’s 6.6 relative shot effort percentage of five on five during this team is the second highest percentage in the NHL among players with at least 200 games played, just Patons of Bergeron (7.2 percent).

Mantha was selected by Detroit in the first round, 20th overall, in the 2013 NHL draft. Mantha’s 0.31 goals per game ranks sixth among players in the 2013 NHL draft class with at least 200 games played.

Before the NHL, Mantha appeared in 132 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL) and scored 88 points (44g, 44a). Mantha played four seasons with the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the QMJHL and scored 260 points (129g, 131a) in 189 games. In his last season in the QMJHL in 2013-14, Mantha won the Jean Beliveau trophy with the most points in the QMJHL (57g, 63a, 120p), the Michel Briere trophy as the most valuable player in the QMJHL and he is the Canadian designated. Hockey League player of the year.

Internationally, Mantha appeared in the 2019 World Cup for Team Canada and scored 14 points (7g, 7a) in nine matches and won a silver medal. In addition, Mantha represented Canada at the 2014 Junior World Championships for juniors and scored 11 points (5g, 6a) in seven matches.

Vrana (25) has scored 25 points (11g, 14a) in 39 games this season. The 6’0 ″, £ 197 forward scored 157 points (76g, 81a) in 284 career games with the Capitals. He was drafted by Washington in the first round, 13th overall, in the 2014 NHL draft.

Panik (30) has scored nine points (3g, 6a) in 36 games this season. The 6’2 ″, 203-pound forward scored 31 points (12g, 19a) in 95 games with the Capitals.

Inscription photo: @ anthonymantha39 / Zoom

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