Anthony Mantha arrives in New Jersey with the kind of scoring line that usually triggers instant skepticism, but the Devils clearly believe this one is built to last.
After the Utah Mammoth matched the offer sheet for Barrett Hayton, New Jersey had to adjust its offseason plans. The move that ended up mattering most came when Sunny Mehta signed Mantha to a two-year contract worth $9 million. It’s a significant bet on a player fresh off a 33-goal season, and it gives the Devils a proven finisher at a time when they needed one.
The obvious pushback is age and track record. Mantha had never reached 30 goals before last season, and he’d only hit 25 once, back when he was 24.
He’s 31 now, so the natural reaction is to wonder whether that breakout was a mirage. The Devils have seen that movie before, too.
Andreas Johnsson came in with a 20-goal season from the Toronto Maple Leafs and never got close to that again in New Jersey.
Still, this situation doesn’t feel like a simple copy of that warning sign. The Devils can feed offense in a way that changes the equation, especially with Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes driving play.
Even with Timo Meier not at his sharpest, Hischier and Hughes have been setting up teammates for high-end chances. The problem around them has often been finishing.
Mantha, though, has shown he can do exactly that.
His 21.7% shooting percentage from last season will make some people assume regression is coming fast. But that number wasn’t a one-off spike; he’s been above 20 percent for three straight years. That kind of efficiency usually raises eyebrows, but Mantha has kept producing it.
Right now, the cleanest fit appears to be with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. Put Mantha next to two elite puck distributors and the chances should pile up. If everything clicks, he could even push toward 40 goals.
There’s also a power-play angle here. If Mantha lands on the top unit, the scoring upside gets even more dangerous.
The one caveat, as always with him, is health. That’s been an issue before.
But if he stays on the ice, the Devils have every reason to think the goals will keep coming.
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