Anthony Mantha gives Sheldon Keefe a new top-nine option after New Jersey closed a 2-year deal that few saw coming this deep into free agency.
That is the angle here. Mantha did not circle back to Pittsburgh, and he did not get the Montreal landing that kept hanging over his market.
Instead, Tom Fitzgerald stepped in and got it done with a 4.75M AAV. For a player who sat unsigned from July 1 to July 15, that is a clear bet on rebound value.
The surprise is not the contract shape. The surprise is the team. New Jersey barely surfaced in the loudest free-agent chatter around Mantha.
That matters because the Devils were not shopping for noise. They were shopping for more finish, more reach around the crease, and another winger who can help their middle six look heavier.
Mantha fits that need on paper. When he is going, he can hold pucks, get to scoring areas, and make a power-play unit feel a little less easy to defend.
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The term tells you plenty too. New Jersey did not hand out a long commitment, which keeps the risk under control and leaves room if this turns into a one-step reset instead of a full bounce-back.
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The NHL's top remaining free agent just made his decision
Montreal always felt like the clean public story. Anthony Mantha is a Quebec native, Martin St-Louis could have used another big wing, and the fit in the top six was easy to picture.
But the hold-up looked real. The money was one thing. The years were another, and that is usually where talks tighten up fast in July.
So New Jersey found the opening. A shorter contract at a stronger annual number is often where these stalled files finally move.
For Keefe, this is a useful swing, not a reckless one. He gets a veteran winger with size and touch, and he gets him without tying up the roster for too long.
For Mantha, there is pressure attached to it. A 2-year deal at 4.75M AAV is not a depth-ticket contract. It says the Devils expect him to matter right away.
That is why this move lands the way it does. The long wait built one story around Anthony Mantha, then New Jersey cut across it and changed the board in one morning.
Did the New Jersey Devils make the right bet on Anthony Mantha?
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