The 29-year-old also spoke on his relationship with head coach Peter Laviolette and his plans for the offseason.

ARLINGTON, V.A. -- Six months ago, standing at the podium ahead of Washington Capitals training camp, Anthony Mantha was sure of himself, excited to get to work as he entered the season fully healthy and with plenty to show. Fast forward to now, and he's standing in the same place, with a completely different story to tell about how things played out.

That confidence had faded, dwindled to an all-time low. His season was nothing to write home about, and even a thrilling year off the ice that featured the birth of his first child and wedding planning was overshadowed by critics, healthy scratches and uncertainty about his future.

"It was crazy tough," Mantha noted.

After getting off to a decent start with three goals in his first five games, Mantha's play dropped off big time. He failed to finish on his chances, failed to generate a lot of offense and struggled defensively.

In turn, his ice time and role dwindled, and his confidence hit an all-time low when head coach Peter Laviolette decided to sit him for the first time in his D.C. tenure.

"Just being scratched was hard, hit in the face," Mantha said.

When he drew back into the mix, Mantha was overthinking every move, every play, and every puck. It didn't help in the slightest, as he failed to capitalize on the opportunity to guarantee a spot in the lineup. That led to a scratch going from a one-off to a more common occurrence amid continued inconsistency.

"You come back and you try to get things going and get confidence, and sometimes, it's way harder than people could imagine," Mantha said. "Putting extra pressure on yourself, putting extra details and then you go out there and you're actually thinking more than you were before."

Ultimately, his goal drought continued, his struggles become more prominent, the critics got louder and his future was put in question. Mantha finished the year with just 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 67 games.

"It's not the season I wanted," he added bluntly.

And the feeling was mutual for the organization. Neither management nor Mantha was expecting this kind of year for No. 39, who came to camp with plenty to show after missing the majority of the 2021-22 campaign due to a shoulder injury and surgery.

"I think he had periods where I thought he found his game and was competing hard, and then, near the end, I don't think he was a confident player playing at his highest level," MacLellan said.

Looking back at the year, though, Mantha doesn't want to make excuses. In fact, he doesn't put his struggles on Laviolette's, puck luck or anything else. At the end of the day, he said it all falls on one person: himself.

"I don't think it's anything between us," Mantha said of his relationship with Laviolette. "It's just me, myself to blame. Maybe my lack of skating, lack of shooting or lack of decision-making, maybe all the details that he looked into... it takes a toll on your confidence when that happens, and then after, you're just looking for your game that's maybe not present."

Going into the offseason, Mantha admitted that he's still struggling with confidence, especially after missing the final games of the season due to a lingering groin issue, but said that the longer summer should allow him to get back to where he needs to be.

With more time to reflect and still more to show, the 29-year-old said he plans to take his training to a higher level. Not only will he work on skating and fine-tuning different areas of his game, but he's also going to work on the mental side of the game as well, from confidence to effort. To do that, he's working with a mental coach from Toronto, one that he turned to just weeks after being scratched for the first time.

"This is the best game, but sometimes the hardest, you know?" Mantha noted. "So it's mentally, physically [hard]... it all impacts your type of game that you're playing out there."

It's still early, but Mantha said that just having a mental coach is something that will make a major difference, as the mental aspect of the game is just as important as the physical side.

"It's been helping. Obviously, there's a long ways to go, but at least I know where I'll be heading," Mantha said, adding, "I mean, it's not in two sessions when I first started that you get your confidence back. It's making commitments, making decisions, making goals. So short-term, yes, there are some things you can improve, which I think I did, but it's mostly long-term that the effect actually comes in."

Having a clean slate will also help Mantha, but most importantly, he wants to show Brian MacLellan and the organization that he is determined and ready to come back and make the impact they wanted to see when they acquired him for Jakub Vrana at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline.

"I want to come back here next year and prove to everyone, including myself, that they came to me for a reason, and that's exactly my mental state of mind for next year," Mantha said.

Of course, he knows that his actions will speak louder than words, especially with Washington looking to make changes after failing to make the playoffs for the first time in nine years.

So at the end of the day, Mantha said he will do what he can to be the top-6 player the Capitals had in mind. He also wants to show that his season-closing comments aren't just standard end-of-the-year clichès and empty promises; they're guarantees that things will get better.

"I'm probably going to have the best summer of my career workout-wise. Skating, mental coach, and I'll be coming back out here next year with some fire and just to prove to everyone that I can do the job," Mantha said. "Next year is gonna be a big year for me personally. I want to stick around this league for a long time, and I need to work very hard next year to prove that I'm still good and still capable of hanging around."