Anthony Mantha thought a homecoming to Montreal might be in the cards this summer. It never got that far.
The Longueil native said the Canadiens did have interest in him before he signed a two-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, but the conversation never turned into a real offer. During his introductory Zoom call, Mantha laid out how the talks fizzled.
“We did have talks. There was mutual interest, but when it came time to discuss years and numbers, they didn’t put an offer on the table, so we went in another direction,” Mantha told La Presse’s Richard Labbe. “We gave them a whole week to call us back, but they never did.”
That lines up with how the market played out for him more broadly. Mantha was looking for a three- or four-year commitment after posting a 33-goal season with the Penguins, hoping to cash in on the big year and finally get some security after bouncing from one-year deal to one-year deal.
He had done that in Calgary and Pittsburgh, but teams weren’t willing to go beyond two years. Age, injury history and inconsistency all seemed to weigh against him.
For Montreal, the fit apparently wasn’t as clean as the rumors suggested. The Canadiens were built around skill, but they were also looking for a bigger body who could bring more of a bang-and-crash element. They also wanted someone who could lean into responsible, well-rounded play, and that’s not really Mantha’s game.
The whole situation also sits alongside what Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes said after free agency opened. He said the team wasn’t sitting idle for lack of effort, but that it wasn’t going to make a “dumb” move just to force something. In Mantha’s case, the interest was real enough to get people talking, but not real enough for Montreal to put an offer on the table.
In Other News...
Canadiens Fans Are Still Waiting On One Martin St-Louis Decision
The Canadiens are still waiting on Martin St-Louis to put pen to paper on the contract extension many around the team expected to be a formality by mid-July. It is a little out of step with how Montreal has handled coaching business in the past, especially after the club moved quickly on extensions in 2022 and 2024, but there has been no official sign of trouble as the front office and head coach keep carrying on as usual.
Even so, the longer the decision lingers, the more natural it is for outside speculation to creep in about where things stand. For now, the mood around the situation remains positive, and there is nothing to suggest the Canadiens view this as anything more than a delay in getting a deal done. [Read more 🡒]
Canadiens Trade Talk Suddenly Fits The Plan Fans Have Debated All Summer
The Canadiens summer of roster debate has mostly centered on one familiar question: how does Kent Hughes add more speed, skill and flexibility without crowding the young core already in place? That is why the latest trade chatter has such an easy fit in Montreal, with the focus landing on players who could slide into different spots up front and give the lineup a little more punch if the right deal comes along.
What makes the conversation interesting is that the options being discussed all bring something a little different to the table, from centre-wing versatility to a more direct scoring threat. Hughes has shown a willingness to keep looking for moves that match the teams long-term plan, and this is the kind of speculation that naturally gets fans talking because it feels less like a random rumor and more like the sort of swing Montreal has been waiting to make. [Read more 🡒]