NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterMar 5, 2024, 07:16 PM ET
CloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
In need of a winger, the Vegas Golden Knights landed one Tuesday when they traded for Anthony Mantha with a 2024 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick going to the Washington Capitals, the teams announced.
Getting a top-six winger was thought to be a priority for the defending Stanley Cup champions only to become a reality on Monday. That’s when they moved captain and left winger Mark Stone, who is out with an upper-body injury, to long-term injured reserve.
Moving Stone to LTIR allowed the Golden Knights to create an additional $7.2 million in cap space, according to the website, CapFriendly.
Finding someone who could replace Stone is what led to the Golden Knights being rumored with a number of options in what’s become a somewhat stagnant market primarily due to teams trying to sort out their respective cap situations.
Enter Mantha, who was among those wingers that was believed to be in play. The 29-year-old is in the final season of a five-year contract worth $5.7 million annually. His 20 goals and 34 points in 56 games with the Capitals marks the third time in his career that he’s reached the 20-goal mark.
He’ll now head to Vegas where he’ll look to parlay his regular season success into the sort of results that could help the Golden Knights capture a consecutive crown. For his career, Mantha has six points — all assists — in 11 playoff games.
Entering Tuesday, the Golden Knights (33-22-7) had lost three straight games but remained third in the Pacific Division standings. They’re trailing the Edmonton Oilers by three points for second place while remaining a point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators in the wild-card race.
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
The expectation for the Golden Knights is that Mantha could possibly replicate the success they had ahead of last year’s deadline when they traded for Ivan Barbashev. A year ago, Stone was moved to…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39661279/vegas-golden-knights-acquire-forward-anthony-mantha
Author : Ryan S. Clark
Publish date : 2024-03-06 00:16:44
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
