Detroit Red Wings could have tough negotiations with Anthony Mantha

As tough as the 2019-20 NHL season has been on the Detroit Red Wings, contract negotiations with forward Anthony Mantha could be even tougher.

Not much has gone right for the Detroit Red Wings this season. It takes an impressive lack of talent and an impressive lack of luck to be as bad as the Red Wings. They’re on pace to be the worst team of the salary cap era. Things might not be easier for them this summer, as forward Anthony Mantha will be up for a new contract.

Mantha will probably request quite the raise from his current $3.3 million cap hit. And rightfully so, with his 81 points in his last 107 games. Mantha has proven his value to the Wings, as he’s emerged as one of their most consistent forwards when healthy.

Mantha’s 81 points over the past two seasons rank third on the team during that span, trailing Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin. Furthermore, his 0.76 points per game since the start of the 2018-19 season is second on the team, trailing only Larkin.

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His underlying stats are excellent. Whether you prefer Corsi, Fenwick, shots on goal, scoring chances, goals, or expected goals, Mantha has consistently made an unquestionably huge impact in each area.

Mantha’s injuries this season could complicate things. But even he admits negotiations could be complicated this summer.

“It will be complicated, I think,” Mantha said, via Detroit News. “But it’s not in my power. My power is to play hockey. My agent and Stevie are going to talk, maybe they’ve started. I don’t even know.”

In 257 games in his career (as of March 6), Mantha has tallied 83 goals and 85 assists for 168 points. If it wasn’t for injuries this season, he’d likely already have his third consecutive season with at least 20 goals. With 14 games left this season and 15 goals scored, 20 goals are still possible for Mantha.

As the Red Wings rebuild, they must decide who they’ll keep and who they won’t. Mantha has earned himself a nice raise from his current contract. He’s proven his value to the Red Wings both on and off the ice.

The Red Wings are going to have to make some difficult decisions this summer, as they have multiple players to re-sign other than Mantha. That list includes Bertuzzi, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne, Jimmy Howard, and Dmytro Timashov. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Red Wings decide to start spending a bit in free agency, as they clearly need to improve on their results from this season.

Giving Mantha a huge contract shouldn’t be too difficult for the Red Wings. After all, they only have four players (Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Danny DeKeyser, and Frans Nielsen) signed past the 2020-21 season. However, the precise details of the contract could understandably be hard to hash out.

Are the Red Wings ready to give Mantha a long-term deal? And just how long do they want to keep him around? Ken Holland‘s fatal flaw as their general manager was giving out too many long-term deals with too many no-trade clauses. Mantha has seen many of his teammates get those deals. Will he want one too? And will general manager Steve Yzerman be willing to give him one if he does?

These are just a few of the questions the Red Wings must consider. But one thing is for certain. The Red Wings have to find a way to keep Mantha around.