A bridge deal made sense for the Detroit Red Wings and Anthony Mantha.
Mantha was signed Wednesday to a two-year contract with a $3.3 million salary-cap hit per year. Mantha led the Wings last season with 24 goals. A first-round pick from 2013, Mantha is considered one of the key pieces of the rebuild. At 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, he is one of the team's biggest players, and he's shown encouraging growth in his effort during the past two seasons. He was called out a couple times by head coach Jeff Blashill for not putting in enough effort on a regular basis, and has said he understands what a difference he makes when he is engaged.
The Wings have encouraged Mantha to use James van Riemsdyk (who just signed a long-term deal with the Flyers) as an example of the type of hockey Mantha needs to play to be successful _ go to the net and create havoc down low.
The contract means that Mantha, 23, will once again be a restricted free agent upon its expiration. It gives him an opportunity to build his resume in advance of what could next be a long-term deal, and gives the Wings a chance to further evaluate Mantha before deciding how far to extend him.
The deal comes a week after the Wings signed 23-year-old Andreas Athanasiou to a two-year deal. Dylan Larkin, 21, remains unsigned. There's a chance he gets signed to a longer-term deal, as the Wings see him as central to the rebuild, and as future captain material.
