After a quiet and boring July 1st, the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager Kyle Dubas brought in what is probably their best free agency signing so far.
On Wednesday, the team announced the signing of forward Anthony Mantha to a one-year contract. Mantha’s deal carries a $2.5 million cap hit and up to $2 million in bonuses, health depending.
Health is indeed a factor for Mantha. Last year, with the Calgary Flames, he was limited to only 13 games and did not play a game after November 5th after suffering an ACL injury. In his brief action with the Flames, Mantha scored four goals and three assists.
But when he is healthy, Mantha is a productive winger who has some underrated skill. He averages 23.6 goals and 49 points per 82 games, proving he is more than capable of a middle-six role.
At 6′ 5 and over 230 pounds, Mantha brings some size to the Penguins’ lineup. He would have tied Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Graves, and Kevin Hayes for the tallest player on last year’s roster, and he currently sits just a hair shy of the new tallest player, Justin Brazeau, who the team signed yesterday.
Even with that size, however, Mantha can pick up some speed, as he showed last season.
At almost 31 years old, Pittsburgh will be Mantha’s fifth NHL team. A former first round pick by Detroit in 2013, Mantha has played with four teams since the 2020-21 season and three in the last two.
He’s no stranger to moving around, which is good for him, because he likely doesn’t finish the season with Pittsburgh.
His signing looks very similar to what the Penguins did last season with Anthony Beauvillier. A winger who was looking to rebound, Pittsburgh was able to sign him on the cheap and rehab him enough to make him look like an attractive option at the trade deadline.
Beauvillier moved up and down the lineup, playing mostly in a middle-six role and occasionally suiting up alongside Sidney Crosby on the top line.
Even though Beauviller only put up 20 points in 63 games, the Penguins were able to net a second round pick from Washington for him at the deadline.
That high return was partly because of a market that heavily favored selling teams in March, but even if the market is less lopsided come next deadline, a similar return should follow for Mantha.
After all, he has a better body of work than Beauvillier does, and has a track record of fetching similar results in trades. Obviously, the return he brought the Red Wings in 2021 (a first, a second, and two roster places) is not what he will bring back now, but two deadlines ago, Mantha was traded by Washington to Vegas for a second and fourth round pick.
Assuming he doesn’t entirely bottom out, that’s certainly within the range of what Dubas coud get for him in March of 2026.
Mantha likely slots in to the team’s middle six as a winger. With the way the roster is currently constructed, Mantha works best as a third line forward. But there’s a lot of offseason left, and depending on what the team does later in the trade department, he could be elevated into a more consistent top-six role.
I would also throw Mantha on Crosby’s wing every now and then. It’s really hard for a winger to look bad playing alongside Sid, and as long as being competitive is not the main goal, head coach Dan Muse should feel free to try out anything.
Overall, it’s a pretty good deal for both sides. Mantha will get some increased ice time with the Penguins and a chance to sell the rest of the league on himself once again. Come March, he should get moved to a team with playoff aspirations.
The Penguins, meanwhile, will get someone who could fill out their lineup to start the season. And at the deadline, they’ll get a decent return to help continue the rebuild.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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