- Steve Yzerman offered Anthony Mantha a one-year, $5 million deal to return to Detroit before stepping down as GM
- Mantha nearly accepted but signed a two-year deal with New Jersey for the security
- Read below for what MLive’s Ansar Khan reported about Yzerman’s final Red Wings move
Steve Yzerman’s last act as Red Wings general manager almost brought a familiar face back to Detroit.
Yzerman offered Anthony Mantha a one-year deal worth $5 million before he stepped down, and the winger nearly took it, MLive’s Ansar Khan reported Friday. Mantha instead signed a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils, putting pen to paper right around the time Yzerman’s exit became official.
Detroit had a clear reason to want him. With Dylan Larkin’s name floating in trade talks and Patrick Kane declining to re-sign, the Red Wings needed scoring, and Mantha was coming off the best year of his career. He put up 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games with Pittsburgh, all career highs.
The one-year term is what pushed him toward New Jersey. Mantha has three young kids and wanted to plant somewhere for more than a single season. The Devils gave him two years at $9.5 million, and that stability won out over a return home.
Here’s New Jersey making it official:
The Red Wings drafted Mantha 27th overall in 2013, and he spent his first six seasons in the Motor City. Yzerman was the one who moved him, shipping him to Washington at the 2021 trade deadline. A reunion would have closed the loop, but it never got that far.
Watch all 33 of Mantha’s goals from his career year in Pittsburgh:
Mantha’s move to New Jersey leaves Detroit still hunting for offense. Now the search for a new general manager runs right alongside it.
