Canadiens Weighing Risk and Reward on Free-Agent Winger

The Montreal Canadiens’ pursuit of a top-six scoring winger has sparked rumors about a particular UFA: Anthony Mantha. The 31-year-old, 6-foot-5 forward is coming off a career year, posting 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins — numbers that have several teams interested in his services. Still, he’s gone unsigned and the reason seems to be the ask, several years at a fairly high AAV.

While many feel Mantha would be a natural fit alongside Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov, the Canadiens aren’t prone to making major contract mistakes. The last one was arguably Patrik Laine, whose deal the team is just now out from under. They aren’t keen to go down that path again, and while Mantha could be a great option, he could be the next Laine.

Analyst Pierre McGuire recently said he’d be interested in Mantha as a player, but not in a long-term deal where the Canadiens would hand him a big-money contract. While trying not to discount the year Mantha had, McGuire pointed out that playing with stars like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin likely padded his stat line. He sarcastically asked, what happened in all the other years?

Mantha has suited up for five different NHL teams since 2015, and his career has been marked by inconsistency and injury issues — this past season was actually the first time he played close to a full season.