Capitals Trade Anthony Mantha To Golden Knights

The Capitals have sent the 20-goal scorer to Vegas.

The Washington Capitals have gotten to work ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline, sending Anthony Mantha to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Washington has sent Mantha to Vegas in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick, and the team will retain 50 percent of Mantha's salary. It ends Mantha's three-year tenure in the D.C. area.

Mantha has had a turnaround season for the Capitals, hitting 20 goals and picking up 14 assists for 34 points in 56 games and leading the team with 17 goals at even strength.

The 29-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, so he is a strong rental option for the defending 2023 Stanley Cup Champions, who are also taking advantage of the long-term injured reserve with Mark Stone out through the rest of the regular season.

Mantha first came to Washington at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline in exchange for Jakub Vrana. Prior to this year, he struggled to find consistency with the team but thrived under head coach Spencer Carbery this season while playing the majority of the time with Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael.

Washington is approaching the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline with a similar approach to last season, where the team plans to sell some pieces in order to shift its focus to the future. MacLellan did say, though, that he didn't just want to trade players and would wait for the right price and return.

"It's not, 'Hey, we're going to go out and rent a guy for the playoffs.' We're not in that game. We're here to look for opportunities to find more young players, add more young players to our roster and still compete," MacLellan said of the Capitals' approach.

"The strategy is the same. We're trying to thread a needle of being competitive and making good trades, and it might go either way on us," he added. "Our trade options are for younger, future-type stuff versus older, veteran players."