Red Wings sign Anthony Mantha to four-year extension
The Detroit Red Wings announced on Tuesday that they signed right winger Anthony Mantha to a four-year contract extension. While the club didn't divulge financial aspects of the deal, The Athletic reports the agreement carries an average annual value of $5.7 million.
The 26-year-old appeared in 43 regular-season games and finished the campaign third on the team in goals (16), assists (22) and points (38). Per the club's official website, Mantha is Detroit's leader in goals-per-game (0.33) since the start of the 2016-17 season.
The Red Wings were in last place in the overall Eastern Conference standings when the NHL halted the campaign on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic and, thus, weren't eligible to participate in the league's summer resumption used to crown a 2019-20 Stanley Cup champion.
As Helene St. James wrote for the Detroit Free Press in February, Mantha missed time last season after he suffered a head injury and punctured lung following an altercation with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin on Dec. 21.
"With the force of impact, my ribs punctured my lungs,” Mantha later explained. "It was probably the worst pain I’ve been in. And on top of all that, I got the flu on Day 2 of being injured, I had 103 (degree) fever. So it was just a terrible first week."
Muzzin wasn't disciplined by the league for his role in the fight.
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