Anthony Mantha Traded to Golden Knights from Capitals Ahead of Deadline

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The Vegas Golden Knights acquired forward Anthony Mantha from the Washington on Tuesday in exchange for a 2024 second-round pick and 2026 fourth-rounder.

The 29-year-old has posted 20 goals and 14 assists in 56 games this season, the first time since the 2018-19 campaign he’s reached the 20-goal threshold.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Capitals were retaining 50 percent of Mantha’s salary and cap hit, giving the Golden Knights the flexibility to make additional moves before Friday’s NHL trade deadline.

Mantha is in the final year of the four-year, $22.8 million extension he signed with the Detroit Red Wings back in 2020. He spent parts of his first six seasons with Detroit before being traded to the Capitals in the 2020-21 campaign, where he’s been since.

While he never quite lived up to expectations in Washington before this season, he should be a nice addition for the defending champion Golden Knights as they look to load up for another deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The team is currently third in the Pacific Division at 73 points, just one point above the Los Angeles Kings.

It’s another win-now move for Vegas, which hasn’t wasted time chasing titles in its short history as an NHL franchise.

The Capitals, meanwhile, have just 65 points on the season and are seven points back in the Wild Card hunt. It appears they’re more likely to be sellers rather than buyers, an approach that general manager Brian MacLellan hinted at on Saturday.

“I think our priority would be the future of our club,” he told reporters. “All decisions will be based on [that]. It’s not, ‘Hey, we’re going to go out and rent a guy for the playoffs.’ We’re not in that game. We’re here to look for opportunities to find more young players, add more young players to our roster and compete—still compete.”