3 reasons why Anthony Mantha not returning makes sense
It appears Anthony Mantha isn't returning to the Vegas Golden Knights next season. Here's why that makes sense.
When an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup presents itself, most teams will jump at it and do whatever it takes. Most teams will risk everything for that chance to hoist Lord Stanley, whether it's signing big-name free agents or trading for reputable stars. The Vegas Golden Knights tried their hand with Anthony Mantha at the trade deadline, hoping to bolster their offense.
That was especially true for a power play that lagged behind all these years. The Golden Knights have an all-time percentage of 19.6%, which would rank near the bottom of nearly every season stats-wise. With the unit's best production coming in 2019-20 (22%), why not take a crack at a proven player with a good offensive track record?
After all, Mantha showed his worth with the Detroit Red Wings in six seasons, scoring 95 goals and 99 assists during his tenure. With 27 power play goals to his name during his Red Wings tenure, the former first-round pick would be good enough to help Vegas and eventually return, right?
Sadly, that isn't the case. A report came out on Thursday stating that the right winger was one of three Vegas Golden Knights who wouldn't return to the team. Granted, he was also an unrestricted free agent for this upcoming offseason. So there was a good chance he'd be gone and test the waters before anything else.
Still, there must be some good explanation pertaining to why the former Detroit Red Wing won't be returning. Was it something he did (or didn't do)? Were the conditions for the winger returning not right? Or did he say something wrong? Here are three reasons why Anthony Mantha not returning to Vegas makes sense.
Anthony Mantha wasn't impressive enough
Anthony Mantha's main calling card was his offensive production. The winger could score goals with an excellent shot and had good size, speed, and puck-handling skills. Therefore, he could fit in flawlessly with the Vegas Golden Knights. However, his Vegas tenure got off to a rocky start.
Upon arriving with the team on March 7, his first game consisted of two minor penalties and no shots against the Vancouver Canucks. For March with Vegas, he only had one goal. Granted, he tacked on five assists during that month, which is decent. It also led him to a good April, where he had two goals and two assists in seven games.
However, Mantha did nothing against the Dallas Stars, with no goals or assists to account for. In fact, he didn't appear after game three, with the winger being healthy-scratched. Inconsistency has been a plague for the former first-round pick during his career, with the player not doing enough to prove he's worthy of returning.
Anthony Mantha won't be a main priority anyways
With not being impressive enough comes not being a priority in the offseason plans. While it might hurt the prospective player, the Vegas Golden Knights have other needs that must be addressed. The farm system isn't bringing up many pluggable players any time soon, which makes nailing the offseason a bigger priority.
Of course, the big focus will be on Jonathan Marchessault and getting him re-signed. The "Original Misfit" scored 42 goals this season and earned himself a Conn Smythe trophy during his Vegas tenure. Therefore, Vegas's focus during free agency will be bringing back the popular player for another go-round.
Obviously, there are more pressing issues with the Golden Knights right now. There's the issue of replacing five departing forwards where they won't have room to bring back. But it's also a tightrope act when the team is on a tight budget. That's especially true when the big name is a beloved player with a long history in Las Vegas. This leads to the next point...
The Vegas Golden Knights don't have the cap space
In a perfect world, the NHL would go back to the 1990s, when the salary cap didn't exist. Teams would make like Mike Ilitch and write blank checks for big-time players, whether it was Dominik Hasek or Brett Hull. Such spending sprees would bring baseball-like payrolls, with any team presented the opportunity to compete. Sadly, that world doesn't exist and the NHL has that pesky salary cap.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, having $897,516 in non-LTIR cap space doesn't help. Granted, there's Robin Lehner's deal ($5 million) that can cushion some of the blow. However, it's still not enough to help Anthony Mantha's case, where the limited cap space will impact free agency.
With the Golden Knights looking at all their options regarding Jonathan Marchessault, it makes sense that the former first-round pick won't return. There are more pressing concerns to tackle, with general manager Kelly McCrimmon wondering whether he should go for quality or quantity. Without much cap space, Vegas must shed salary and look at other avenues to building their team, excluding Mantha.
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