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Anthony Mantha Suspended At World Championship

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The IIHF Disciplinary Panel has decided that Team Canada forward Anthony Mantha will miss the upcoming quarter-final game at the World Championship. Mantha has been suspended for one game thanks to a check to the head of Colin White in yesterday’s Canada-USA game. Mantha was given a two-minute minor and ten minute misconduct for the incident during the game.

Mantha has been a revelation for Canada head coach Alain Vigneault, and is currently tied for the tournament lead in goals with seven. The Detroit Red Wings forward easily leads Canada with 12 points through seven games, making his absence from a do-or-die game all that more important. The Swiss team went 4-3 through the preliminary round, but have more than enough firepower to upset a team like Canada.

While obviously this is a setback for Mantha, the Red Wings coaching staff has to be pleased with his tournament so far. The big winger has shown he can continue to produce with top players while also setting the tone physically. Mantha is expected to be a mainstay on Detroit’s top line again next season, and provides a perfect physical complement to Dylan Larkin’s speed.

Atlantic Notes: Marner, Red Wings, Montour

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The Maple Leafs haven’t hidden the fact that getting winger Mitch Marner re-signed before he reaches restricted free agency in July is their top priority.  To that end, Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports (Twitter link) that GM Kyle Dubas met with Marner’s agent Darren Ferris yesterday but Dubas isn’t willing to comment publicly on the state of negotiations.  Marner had a career-high 94 points in 2018-19 to lead Toronto in points for the second straight season.  As a result, he has himself in great shape to land a huge raise on the $925K he received on his entry-level deal.  Teammates John Tavares and Auston Matthews will each be earning at least $11MM in 2019-20 and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Ferris pushing for a salary around that amount for Marner as well.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • While Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou had breakout years, Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News posits that the pair could make the most sense as trade candidates to land an impact defenseman. Detroit’s prospect depth is up front but most of their young players aren’t going to yield a top-four blueliner in a trade at this point.  Mantha and Athanasiou are also set to become restricted free agents in 2020 and will be in line for significant raises at that time.  New GM Steve Yzerman showed with Tampa Bay that he can be aggressive on the trade market and this would be one way to put a stamp on his team rather quickly.
  • Sabres defenseman Brandon Montour will miss the remainder of the World Championships due to a lower-body injury, Hockey Canada announced. The injury was sustained on Monday in their victory over Slovakia.  There’s no timetable for how long he’ll miss beyond these next two weeks.  Canada has one roster spot remaining and it’s all but a given now that they will use it on another blueliner.

Hockey Canada Announces 2019 IIHF World Championship Roster

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The 2019 IIHF World Championship will begin next month, and Hockey Canada has finally announced their roster for the tournament. 22 players were named to the group (that could be increased to 25), including many that have represented the team at international events in the past. The full roster is as follows:

G MacKenzie Blackwood
G Matt Murray
G Carter Hart

D Thomas Chabot
D Brandon Montour
D Troy Stecher
D Damon Severson
D Shea Theodore
D Darnell Nurse
D Dante Fabbro

F Jon Marchessault
F Anthony Cirelli
F Mark Stone
F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Anthony Mantha
F Sam Reinhart
F Mathieu Joseph
F John Tavares
F Kyle Turris
F Dylan Strome
F Adam Henrique
F Sean Couturier

Eastern Notes: Vanek, Bruins, Hickey, Ennis

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It’s been a quiet year for Thomas Vanek who was signed to a one-year deal by Detroit to provide some veteran scoring while the team waits for its young talent to develop. However Vanek, who has scored 20 goals in 11 of his last 13 seasons in the NHL, hasn’t really done much of that. Despite scoring the lone goal in Detroit’s 2-1 loss to Florida on Saturday, Vanek has just five goals and is on a pace to score a career-low 14 goals this year.

Granted, the winger is 34 years old now and is averaging just 13:24 minutes per game, a career-low as well. However, with recent injuries to players like Mike Green, Anthony Mantha and most recently Andreas Athanasiou, Vanek needs to get going and he says he’s losing sleep over his dropping numbers, according to MLive’s Ansar Khan.

“It’s been a frustrating year,” Vanek said. “Even tonight, I felt good and should’ve had two, should’ve had three, and I walked away with one. It’s frustrating. I’m losing sleep over it, but at the same time, I got to stay positive and keep getting to the net, and hopefully it will turn quick.”

  • The Boston Bruins announced that while Jake Debrusk, Kevan Miller and Zdeno Chara would all be out for today’s game against Carolina, head coach Bruce Cassidy said that all three could be back immediately after the Christmas break on Thursday when they play New Jersey. Debrusk hasn’t played since Dec. 6, while Miller has been out since Nov. 26. Chara has been out the longest since Nov. 14. If all three come back, the Bruins might be as close to fully heathy as they ever have been.
  • Newsday’s Aaron Gross writes that New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey, who has been out for a week with a concussion, participated in the team’s optional morning skate. He also skated on Friday and hasn’t suffered any setbacks in his recovery. There is no timeline yet for his return, but the team hopes it will be soon.
  • While the Toronto Maple Leafs have already recalled forward Trevor Moore, the youngster could find himself with the team for quite a bit longer than a simple cup of coffee after Saturday night’s injury to Tyler Ennis. Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported late last night that Ennis broke his ankle on a shot from Morgan Rielly in the second period. Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said “he’ll be out a while.” Ennis was having a impressive season in a bottom-line role as he already had seven goals and 11 points in 33 games.

Danny DeKeyser Out Four To Six Weeks

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Stop reading if you’ve heard this one before. The Detroit Red Wings will be without another key player for more than a month, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today including Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press that Danny DeKeyser will miss four to six weeks with a hand injury. This comes after just yesterday announcing the same recovery timeline for Anthony Mantha, also out with a hand injury.

DeKeyser, 28, hasn’t quite turned into the star two-way defenseman that some thought he was on track to become after he experienced so much success as a young player, but is still a reliable option for the Red Wings on the blue line. Logging more than 21 minutes of ice time this season, he had seven points in his first 20 games and was on track for his best offensive season in quite some time. Unfortunately, injury limited him to 65 games last season and looks like it will keep him out of the lineup perhaps even longer this year. Six weeks would put DeKeyser on track for a mid-January return, at which point the Red Wings could find themselves out of the race for an Atlantic Division playoff spot.

As they continue to try and move on to the next wave of talent in Detroit, DeKeyser is the one defenseman who is still signed long-term. The team needs him and his $5MM cap hit to stay healthy enough to contribute going forward, especially as the other veteran options start to reach unrestricted free agency. Experience and leadership will be required as young players like Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek and others start to see more and more playing time, and DeKeyser will be the one who is looked at for both. That is of course if the Red Wings decide to keep him through this rebuild, which isn’t necessarily a guarantee.

The defenseman has a full no-trade clause currently, but that will reduce to just a 10-team clause on January 1, 2021. Even before that date the team could potentially approach him with a deal, given that he’s likely one of the only high-salary players on the team with any real value. For now though, he’ll have to work hard to get through his rehab and get back on the ice.

Anthony Mantha Out Four To Six Weeks

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Not much has gone right for the Detroit Red Wings this season, but at least Anthony Mantha had developed into a legitimate top line option for the team. Unfortunately, that development will be put on hold for the time being, as head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters today that Mantha will be out four to six weeks with a hand injury. The big forward will undergo surgery today according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Mantha injured the hand while fighting with Patrik Nemeth of the Colorado Avalanche, in a game that hearkened back to the old Detroit-Colorado rivalry of the past. A suspension of Tyler Bertuzzi also came out of the game, though his two-game ban is nothing compared to the loss of Mantha for more than a month. The 24-year old has 14 points in 27 games this season and has used his 6’5″ frame to create room for himself and his linemates on a regular basis.

The Red Wings lost the game as well and have dropped to seventh place in the Atlantic Division, a stone’s throw away from the bottom of the Eastern Conference. While the team wasn’t expected to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, plenty of hope grew out of the early performances from some of their young core forwards. Mantha, Bertuzzi, Andreas Athanasiou, Dylan Larkin, and Michael Rasmussen have all looked like they can be parts of the next wave of Red Wings success, and with others like Joe Veleno and Filip Zadina on the way there was plenty of reason to be excited for the future.

That excitement should still exist, though this outcome is far from ideal. While the team wants Mantha to get involved physically and defend his teammates, losing a big chunk of a developmental season could have tough consequences. The team will have to hope he can jump right back into the action once he returns in the New Year.

Evening Notes: 2020 World Cup, Luongo, Mantha, Hughes

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NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said today that there is a chance there will be a 2020 World Cup, but one major obstacle is the collective bargaining agreement, according to The Athletic’s Corey Masisak.

With the collective bargaining agreement coming up, both the NHL and the NHL Players Association exercise their right to terminate the agreement next year. If either the NHL of NHLPA opts to do that, a World Cup would be “unlikely” to happen.

The last World Cup was in 2016 when Canada defeated Team Europe (a team made up of countries that didn’t make it into the tournament) in a two-game sweep of the best-of-three finals. If they can pull off a 2020 World Cup, it would be the fourth instalment. There was a World Cup in 1996 and 2004.

  • The Florida Panthers may be without their starting goaltender again as Roberto Luongo was forced out of tonight’s game against Tampa Bay. NHL.com’s Corey Long writes that Luongo will not return after a scramble in front of Florida’s net when Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk and forward Frank Vatrano collided in front of the net with Vatrano falling on top of Luongo’s right leg at 12:21 of the second period. Luongo, who had made 13 saves, needed assistance getting off the ice, which could force the injury-prone goaltender to miss some time again. James Reimer took over for Luongo.
  • Dana Wakiji of NHL.com writes that Detroit Red Wings’ newly acquired veteran Thomas Vanek has been especially impressed by the play of Anthony Mantha and believes that the 24-year-old will develop into a top-line power forward sooner than later. “I think he can become the next power forward in this league,” Vanek said after the Wings’ practice Saturday. “His size, his skill-set, his skating, you don’t see that combination that much. He’s still young. The consistency is probably for all us, still not quite there, but he can become a real good power forward in this league.” The winger posted 24 goals last season and at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, is capable of doing more. He will play alongside Dylan Larkin this year, which should increase his chances of goal-scoring success.
  • Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News released his list of the Top 75 collegiate players with the Vancouver Canucks and the Colorado Avalanche owning the rights to the top two college players, Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes and University of Massachusetts defenseman Cale Makar. Hughes, the fifth-overall pick in this year’s draft had 29 points as a freshman for the Wolverines last year, while Makar, the fourth overall pick in 2017, posted 21 points as a freshman last year for the Minutemen.

Anthony Mantha Re-Signs With Detroit Red Wings

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The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed a key part of their future, inking Anthony Mantha to a two-year contract. Mantha was a restricted free agent this summer but was ineligible for salary arbitration. Ansar Khan of MLive reports that the deal will carry a $3.3MM cap hit.

The 23-year old Mantha will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the contract, making this an affordable bridge deal for the Red Wings as they try to turn around their salary structure. The team has put themselves in a bad financial situation with long-term contracts to underwhelming players like Justin Abdelkader and Danny DeKeyser, and are in a situation where they likely have to move out another deal or once again use the cap space created by designating Johan Franzen as a long-term injured reserve player. With Dylan Larkin still to sign, the Red Wings have just under $3MM in cap space—though again, Franzen can help clear that up and the team is allowed to go up to 10% over the cap ceiling during the offseason.

A long-term deal for Mantha seems inevitable down the road. The 2013 first-round pick showed off his offensive chops last season with a 24-goal, 48-point campaign, and is just brushing the surface of how dominant he can be as a power forward in the NHL. His game still doesn’t consistently use his size and reach to its full potential, but there are more and more nights that he has shown that level is coming. If it does emerge in the next two seasons the Red Wings will need to pay a hefty premium for his services on the next contract, but that’s something they’re willing to risk to avoid the predicament they would be in by signing him long-term right now.

For Mantha, this is the best of both worlds. A $3.3MM cap hit represents a huge raise from his entry-level salary, and sets him up for a big negotiation next summer. After July 1st 2019, the Red Wings will be able to work out a long-term extension and buy out several free agent years. Seeing as Mantha will likely get prime powerplay time and hit the ice with Detroit’s best players for the foreseeable future, it’s hard to imagine him failing to put up respectable numbers. He’ll be able to demand a big contract, especially given the huge amount of cap space the Red Wings will have in 2020 when contracts like Mike Green, Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley come off the books.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Detroit’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: F Dylan Larkin — After a great start in his rookie year, there were a lot of questions after he struggled in his sophomore campaign when he put up just 32 points. However, the 21-year-old center brushed away any doubts this year, putting up 16 goals and a team-leading 63 points. With a team full of veterans, the Red Wings must begin to depend more and more on Larkin, who is developing into the franchise player they need to center one of their top lines. Add in a recent appearance at the IIHF World Championships where he helped Team USA win a bronze medal and he’s the key to Detroit’s rebuild.

Now coming off his entry-level deal, Larkin is in line for a significant raise from the $1.43MM deal he’s been on for the past three years. Not arbitration eligible, however, the negotiations might get ugly like the one that Andreas Athanasiou dealt with last year, especially with multiple quality players who will be restricted free agents this summer.

Other RFA’s: F Athanasiou, F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Martin Frk, F Matej Machovsky, F Anthony Mantha, F Zach Nastasiuk, F Matt Puempel, D Daniel Renouf.

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: D Mike Green — On a positive note, the team doesn’t have any pressing unrestricted free agents. While Green is quite an offensive defenseman, he’s also 32 years old and not necessarily in the team’s long-term plans. The team’s original plan was to trade the veteran blueliner to a playoff contender at the trade deadline and had hoped that he would provide the team with a big haul of picks and/or prospects. Instead, Green got hurt and missed the two weeks prior to the trade deadline and weren’t able to move Green.

While there has been some talk of bringing him back on a short-term deal, he might be able to get a bigger deal elsewhere, but considering defense is one of the team’s biggest weaknesses and not a lot of defensive prospects there to take his place, a reunion is certainly possible.

Other UFA’s: F David Booth, G Jared Coreau, F Turner Elson, F Matt Lorito, G Tom McCollum, F Ben Street, F Eric Tangradi.

Projected Cap Space: With all the bloated veteran contracts the Red Wings have on the books, cap space is something the team has had little of over the past few years. The team did get the contracts of Green, Tomas Tatar, and Petr Mrazek off the books to free up a little room, but they will likely need all of that to re-sign Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha and Bertuzzi. While general manager Ken Holland says he doesn’t intend to sign any major free agents to long-term deals this summer, he did say he would look at players with shorter term deals, but in the end, the team hopes to bring in some of their youth to fill in the gaps this year.

East Notes: Pittsburgh’s Fourth Line, Hall, Canadiens, Red Wings

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The Penguins are expected to try to add some offense to their fourth line this summer, notes Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  Getting some scoring from their bottom trio was an important key to their successful Stanley Cup runs the past two years but that was an area of concern this past postseason.  With that in mind, GM Jim Rutherford will be looking to put together a more balanced fourth line that can chip in with a goal here and there.  If they re-sign pending RFA Riley Sheahan, he’ll likely be part of that unit while youngsters Zach Aston-Reese and Daniel Sprong could be options as well.  If they look to the open market for a veteran to take a spot, Mackey suggests that Tampa Bay UFA winger Chris Kunitz could make some sense; prior to joining the Lightning last summer, the 38-year-old had spent nine seasons in Pittsburgh.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • Still with Pittsburgh, with the Friday deadline to sign 2016 CHL draft pick fast approaching, the Penguins are expected to relinquish the rights to defenseman Connor Hall, reports Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Hall was a third-rounder that year (77th overall) but he has battled considerable injury problems that have limited him to just 64 games (less than one full season) since being drafted.  The 20-year-old posted 11 assists and 78 penalty minutes in 47 games with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL in 2017-18 and will look to catch on with another organization.
  • Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin acknowledged to NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger that the team is leaning towards keeping the third-overall selection unless they are blown away by a trade offer. Assuming that Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov go first and second to Buffalo and Carolina as expected, the Canadiens will likely choose from wingers Filip Zadina and Brady Tkachuk.  Bergevin also stated that the team is not ready to write off using Jonathan Drouin at center next season.  Drouin, who played down the middle in junior but was a winger with Tampa Bay, struggled considerably at the beginning of the year but appears to have made enough progress in the eyes of management to get a second chance.
  • The Red Wings are open to moving their sixth-overall selection in the draft, reports Craig Custance of The Athletic (subscription required). GM Ken Holland admitted that trading up doesn’t make a lot of sense for them but sliding down a few spots would certainly be a possibility for them.  Custance adds that Holland has had preliminary meetings with the agents for pending RFA wingers Andreas Athanasiou and Anthony Mantha plus pending UFA defenseman Mike Green.

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