The Montreal Canadiens should be looking to boost their forward group this summer. Because of this, they are now being viewed as a possible landing spot for one of this year’s top pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) forwards.
In a recent article for TheScore, Josh Wegman predicted that the Canadiens will sign Pittsburgh Penguins forward Anthony Mantha to a five-year contract with a $6.5 million AAV.
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“While Mantha isn’t as physical as you might expect for someone who’s 6-foot-5 and 240 pounds, his scoring touch and two-way presence could be a great fit on the second line with a cerebral playmaker like Ivan Demidov,” Wegman wrote.
The idea of the Canadiens bringing in Mantha is an interesting one. The big winger just had a monster season with the Penguins, as he set new career highs with 33 goals, 31 assists, and 64 points in 81 games. With numbers like these, he would have the potential to be a strong addition to the Canadiens’ top six if signed.
However, there would certainly be some risk in the Canadiens signing Mantha to a long-term deal. The big winger is turning 32 in September and has already had injury trouble in the past. It is also hard to predict that he will replicate the season he had in 2024-25.
Signing Mantha to a shorter-term deal would probably be a better move for the Canadiens. However, with Mantha being one of the NHL’s top UFAs and coming off such a good year, he has set himself up for a big payday. It will be interesting to see if the Canadiens end up being the team that signs him from here.
