The New Jersey Devils signed winger Anthony Mantha to a two-year, $9.5 million contract Wednesday, the team announced. The deal carries a $4.75 million average annual value and ends a market wait that had stretched two weeks into free agency — as recently as Monday, the only reported interest came from Montreal, and only on the Canadiens’ short-term terms.
New Jersey ultimately met him closer to the middle. Two years is not the term Mantha was reported to be seeking, but it is real security at a real number for a 31-year-old coming off the best season of his career: 33 goals and 64 points with the Pittsburgh Penguins, both career highs, set in a walk year.
The fit is straightforward. New Jersey’s forward group has been thin on finishing outside its top line — Sportsnaut noted just four Devils wingers reached 10 goals last season — and Mantha’s calling card has always been the shot. At 6-foot-5 he has never been a pace-driver, and the Devils’ identity is built on pace. The bet here is division of labor: New Jersey’s speed creates the space, and Mantha finishes what it creates. His Pittsburgh season is the evidence that the role suits him when the minutes and power-play time are there.
The short term protects both sides. If the 33-goal season was the outlier his earlier career suggests it might be, the Devils are out from under the deal by 2028. If it wasn’t, they bought a legitimate top-six scorer at a middle-six price.
For fantasy purposes, Mantha’s value rides entirely on deployment. A top-six role with power-play time puts 25-plus goals back in range, and his shot volume plays well in categories formats. His scoring history is streaky enough that he belongs in the mid-round flier tier rather than the set-and-forget tier — but a two-year commitment at $4.75 million says New Jersey intends to play him where it counts.
