- Anthony Mantha calls his 35-minute video chat with Devils GM Sunny Mehta a “super easy conversation”
- The winger signed a two-year, $9.5 million deal after posting career highs in Pittsburgh last season
- Read below for the line from Mehta that sealed it and why the extra year mattered most
Anthony Mantha didn’t need a hard sell to pick New Jersey. One Saturday morning video call did most of the work.
Mantha spoke Friday about the 35-minute conversation with first-year Devils general manager Sunny Mehta that pushed him toward the deal.
“Him and I (talked) for about 35 minutes. Just chatting, kind of showing me what he wants to build, showing me opportunities in the lineup, chatting about things happening around the League. Just a super easy conversation.”
That call told Mantha where he stood.
“To me that was the point where I was like, ‘All right, he’s really interested in bringing me in.’ Not every GM does that. He’s probably taking time on a Saturday morning to call, and it went a long way.”
Our own take on the signing when it dropped:
Mehta made the pitch personal, and he did it by leaning on the numbers most fans never see. Mantha said the analytics-minded GM barely mentioned his goal total.
“Sunny made it clear from our conversations that he loved the way I played. He said (Devils players) were talking about your stats last year and he’s like, ‘I don’t look at those. I didn’t even know how many goals you had. I look at advanced stats and those numbers. That’s what was (most impressive) to me and that’s why I want you on my team.’”
Mantha signed a two-year, $9.5 million contract on Wednesday, a $4.75 million cap hit. New Jersey first floated a one-year offer, and his camp circled back to ask about trading down on the average value for a second season. That extra year meant more than the money.
“With three young kids, I kind of wanted to stay somewhere for more than one year. Getting that two-year deal was a big relief and I’m just excited to be here now that it’s all done and set.”
Here’s the breakdown on the new contract:
The 31-year-old is coming off the best year of his career. Mantha racked up 33 goals, 31 assists and 64 points in 81 games with the Penguins last season, then added an assist in six playoff games. That production came after back-to-back one-year stops in Calgary and Pittsburgh, and after a torn right ACL wiped out most of his 2024-25.
When Mantha put pen to paper on Wednesday, he became one of the bigger names to leave the free agent board. Now he gets two years to plant roots with a Devils team trying to climb back into the playoff picture.
