(Arlington) Quebecer Anthony Mantha has already been traded before, but never under these circumstances.
Three years ago, the Capitals acquired him at the last minute from the Detroit Red Wings just minutes before the NHL trade deadline. He was completing the first season of a new agreement and was not yet the father of a little girl.
No one will be surprised if Mantha changes addresses this time around, and he is one of several Capitals players who are on the starting blocks ahead of the March 8 deadline. The Caps are still in the playoff race in the Association, despite their crushing 8-3 defeat against the Red Wings and a very difficult schedule between now and the end of the season, but their face should still change over the next few days.
“It’s difficult for everyone,” Mantha admitted. Nothing is real until you get a call, right? I try to stay focused and not project too much into the future. »
Players should not do this, and avoid doing so whenever possible. After all, it is general manager Brian MacLellan’s mandate to determine whether or not he should let go of members of his staff.
Mantha as well as his teammates who could test the free agent market next summer, including former Montreal Canadiens players Joel Edmundson and Max Pacioretty, should find themselves in other places. Former CH goaltender Charlie Lindgren and center Nic Dowd, who are under contract with the Capitals until the end of the 2024-25 season for an annual salary slightly above US1 million each, could also serve as a bargaining chip for MacLellan.
PHOTO WILFREDO LEE, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Charlie Lindgren
Lindgren and Dowd seem to be ideal candidates for Stanley Cup contenders: a 30-year-old goaltender having a career-best season and a versatile forward who can take penalties, win faceoffs and spend many minutes on the ice rink. Even though his name is circulating extensively in trade rumors, Lindgren assured that he is keeping his blinders on and focusing solely on the task at hand.
“You don’t want to know why your name is going around,” said Lindgren, who has a 2.85 goals-against average and whose 27 starts are a career high for him in the NHL. You can’t let the outside noise distract you, because this league is too talented. You must dedicate yourself completely to your work. You must be aware of your place in this ecosystem. »
As a team, the Capitals find themselves in a strange position in the short and long term. They can still aspire to big honors, as Alex Ovechkin continues his quest for Wayne Gretzky’s goals record, but they are also trying to get younger. The acquisition of a young player, while they are part of the selling teams, as they did last year by obtaining Rasmus Sandin, could be part of the priorities of the organization of the American federal capital .
But for now, they are six points behind two different opponents in the race for the playoffs: the Philadelphia Flyers, third in the Metropolitan Division, who will visit them Friday night, and the Tampa Bay Lightning, the second team drafted in the Eastern Association. However, after the trade deadline, things could get tough for them as they will play nine of their next 12 games against opponents who are on track to qualify for the playoffs.