Forward Anthony Mantha and half his cap hit are headed to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Washington Capitals receive second-round and fourth-round draft picks in return.
Anthony ManthaThe Vegas Golden Knights got a head start on their deadline shopping.
The Golden Knights announced they acquired forward Anthony Mantha from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2024 second round draft pick and a 2026 fourth round pick. The Capitals will retain 50 percent of the Mantha’s $5.7-million cap hit, which expires at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Mantha, 29, is a middle-six forward who's recorded 20 goals and 34 points in 56 games this season, all while posting strong underlying defensive numbers during 5-on-5 play. In addition to being on pace for career highs in goals (27), Mantha has registered the seventh most 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes among skaters who have logged at least 500 minutes this season, according to naturalstattrick.com.
Vegas will be without star winger Mark Stone indefinitely, and the team's gone 1-5-1 since its captain sustained an upper-body injury. The Golden Knights are expected to make more moves before the deadline, and adding a versatile player like Mantha — who can play up and down the lineup — is a shrewd move by Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon.
With Washington retaining half of Mantha’s cap hit, Vegas has $4,426,683 in salary cap space to play with before Friday, according to PuckPedia.com.
On the other hand, Washington recoups more assets for a ‘retool’ that may become a full-out rebuild in the not-so-distant future. With Alex Ovechkin looking like a shell of his former self, the Capitals sit seven points behind the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Washington now re-gains a second round-pick in this year's draft — after trading its pick away for Connor Brown in 2022 — and spreads out its plethora of picks by punting the fourth rounder it received to 2026.
For more team-specific reactions, visit The Hockey News' Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals sites.