Calgary Flames sign Anthony Mantha to one year deal ($3.5 million)

The Calgary Flames have made their first addition of the 2024 free agency period. Per multiple reports, the Flames have signed forward Anthony Mantha to a one year deal worth $3.5 million.

A 29-year-old product of Longuevil, Quebec, Mantha is a left shot winger that can play either side of the ice. He’s listed at 6’5″ and 214 pounds, so he brings size and flexibility.

Last season, Mantha split the campaign between Washington and Vegas, posting 23 goals and 44 points over 74 games. If you’re someone wondering “Hey, where are the goals going to come from?” for the Flames. Well, Mantha can help with that. Mantha’s career year was 25 goals (once, in 2018-19) and 48 points (twice, in 2017-18 and 2018-19), but he’s usually hovered around that 20 goal, 40 point mark pretty consistently.

Last season, Mantha played primarily with Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas in Washington and William Karlsson and Pavel Dorofeyev in Vegas. During the past few years, Mantha’s shown a lot of versatility, and displayed the ability to play with both veterans and more inexperienced linemates and provide offence. It’s worth noting that he’s been primarily a secondary power play option over the past few seasons, but with the Flames’ departures and lack of established forward depth, there could be a big opportunity for him to play more on special teams and potentially boost his offensive numbers.

Over his NHL career, Mantha has played 494 NHL games between Detroit, Washsington and Vegas, scoring 142 goals and posting 296 points. If you posit his career production over a typical 82 game schedule, that’s 24 goals and 49 points per game. He projects as a reliable middle-six winger for the Flames and feels like an Andrew Mangiapane replacement – somebody that can be mixed or matched throughout the lineup and provide reliable (if unspectacular) minutes. He won’t block anybody, but he’ll provide a lot of short-term flexibility for the hockey club moving forward.