Anthony Mantha to Free Agency, Not Signing Golden Knights

Anthony Mantha is set to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The 29-year-old forward revealed to Catherine Savoie of RDS that the Vegas Golden Knights, who acquired him at the trade deadline, will not be re-signing him. “Vegas made it clear that they were not going to put me back under contract,” Mantha said. “I’m excited, but at the same time, I’m stressed as everything comes into play. We’ll see, whether it’s July 1st or a little later. Hoping we will have good news.”

Mantha managed three goals and 10 points in 18 games with the Golden Knights after his trade from the Washington Capitals but went scoreless in three playoff games. Vegas had traded a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a 2026 fourth-rounder to Washington for Mantha, who ended the season with 23 goals and 44 points in 74 games between the two teams. The idea was that he would help with the offense and a possible Stanley Cup repeat. It didn’t exactly work out that way.

Mantha is coming off a four-year, $22.8 million contract signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 2020, which had a cap hit of $5.7 million. The Capitals retained 50% of his salary in the March trade. Selected 20th overall by the Red Wings in the 2013 draft, Mantha was traded to the Capitals in 2021. He is a three-time 20-goal scorer and has topped 50 points twice, although the last time was in the 2017-18 season with Detroit.

Golden Knights Have Tough Cap Questions to Answer

The Golden Knights are dealing with cap space constraints, with CapFriendly projecting $6.2 million in cap space this summer, including LTIR relief, and 20 players already under contract for next season. They are making players like Jonathan Marchessault a priority over Mantha. The latter likely won’t be the only cap casualty, especially as the Golden Knights are a team that often sneaks in and lands a big name in free agency or via trade.

Next: Pierre-Luc Dubois Traded to Capitals for Kuemper