- Carlos Monarrez reports the Red Wings had a deal in place with Anthony Mantha this summer
- Assistant GM Shawn Horcoff put it together, then it collapsed while Chris Ilitch deliberated
- Read below for the Stamkos parallel and the $20 million Detroit is still sitting on
The Red Wings had Anthony Mantha. Then they waited too long.
Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press reported that assistant general manager Shawn Horcoff got a deal done with the winger this summer, only for it to die while owner Chris Ilitch sat on the approval.
Monarrez laid out two Detroit misses that trace back to the same desk.
“According to a person of knowledge of the situation, Ilitch’s hesitation in approving big signings cost the Wings two big signings: Steven Stamkos in 2024, and, on the same day Yzerman’s removal was announced, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff had a deal in place with Anthony Mantha, but it fell through while Ilitch deliberated.”
Both dominoes fell on one afternoon. Steve Yzerman’s removal as general manager went public, and hours later Mantha’s contract with New Jersey did too.
We posted the Stamkos half of that report over the weekend. Ilitch never signed off on the offer, Nashville landed Stamkos on a four-year deal, and he scored 42 goals last season, which would have led every Detroit skater:
Mantha ended up in New Jersey on a two-year, $9.5 million contract that carries a $4.75 million cap hit. He is coming off career highs in Pittsburgh with 33 goals, 31 assists and 64 points in 81 games.
Detroit had a hole shaped exactly like that. Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk both walked, taking 88 combined points with them, and Viktor Arvidsson is the only forward brought in to cover the gap.
Money was never the issue. The Red Wings have roughly $20 million in cap room, more than any club in the league, with Simon Edvinsson unsigned and Dylan Larkin’s trade request hanging over the summer.
Take a look at the Red Wings Report breaking down what the Ilitch reporting means for Detroit:
Horcoff still has free agent wingers to choose from and a payroll with room to fit one. Getting a signature past Ilitch is the part Detroit has not solved.
