With Caldaroni’s help, Mantha – who signed a two-year deal with the Devils on Wednesday with an average annual value of $4.75 million – has navigated the many ups and downs of his career. He hit another major down during the 2024-25 season with Calgary. In mid-November he suffered a torn ACL that ended his season after playing just 13 games. Once again, he found himself questioning his career and love of the game.
“An ACL is probably the worst thing you want to hear,” he said. “So, you're feeling down for a long time of your rehab, but luckily for me, I went through other injuries, and I kind of found a way to refocus and to come back even stronger.
“It was to come back to be the most talked-about player and to have the biggest impact, and that's exactly the mentality I had my whole rehab, and it ended up going really well for me.”
Really well is an understatement. He signed with the Penguins in the summer of 2025 and enjoyed the best season of his entire NHL career. At 31 years old, Mantha set career highs in goals (33), assists (31) and points (64). With the remarkable comeback, Mantha was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association.
So, what clicked for the veteran NHLer last year?
“It was just to have fun,” he said. “When I play my best hockey, I'm having fun. I'm smiling.
“My thinking was to be the most talked-about player last year. And if I wasn't up in the conversation, then I was (darn) close to hitting my objective, and that's the mentality I came in with.”
The Quebec native entered the current off-season as one of the highest-coveted free agent wingers following that breakout season. As July 1 came and went though, Mantha remained unsigned. It wasn’t until July 15 that he inked the two-year deal with New Jersey.
“(My team) talked before July 1st and kind of what was the plan and what we were hoping for,” he said. “And we were obviously trying for longer term, being 31 (years old), coming off my best season. We were trying to up that. Didn't really go the way we wanted, to be honest. So, we kind of took a couple extra days after July 1st to kind of reassess and see who was interested and how long, and ultimately, New Jersey was on the table.”
The Devils were more interested in a one-year deal. However, the two sides would eventually agree upon two years.
“We kind of re-circled to see if they were interested in maybe going down an AAV for a second year, which for me was important,” Mantha said. “With three young kids, I kind of wanted to stay somewhere for more than one year. Been one year in Calgary, one year in Pitt, so getting that two-year deal was a big relief and just excited to be here now that it's all done and set.”
Mantha now finds himself in Black and Red. And he’s excited about the team’s potential.
“There's a lot of talented players on the roster,” he said. “You could go from the first to the fourth and the three pairings on D, and you see a lot of talent. So, I'm just eager to get in there. Obviously, it's the coach that's going to decide, but to try different linemates, teammates to play with and find the best chemistry there is. And like I said, there's so much talent that I think it's going to be an easy group to kind of fit in and to play some great hockey.”
Though where Mantha finds himself in the lineup is to be determined, he certainly has his lobby ready.
“I won't lie if I tell you that (Jack) Hughes and (Jesper) Bratt are probably the two linemates I would love to try and love to find their chemistry,” he said. “They're so good, so talented, so fast. But yet again, if you look down the lineup, you put me with any other duo that's been clicking over their last two, three, four, five years, I'll jump in there and try to find a chemistry, too.”
The 10-year NHL veteran has played for Detroit, Washington, Vegas, Calgary and Pittsburgh in his career. In that time, he’s shared a locker room with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Jack Eichel, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
“They all play a different role, right?” Mantha said. “If we start off my career, I was a young kid learning the game with Pav and Zetterberg and (Niklas) Kronwall. Just looking at their work ethic, looking at their skills, the way they were thinking the game. And Zetterberg, at the end of his career, wasn't the fastest, but he was able to calm the play and make plays happen at his speed and still dominating. And then I move on, and I go to Wash, where Ovi's just the best sniper ever. (Nicklas) Backstrom was kind of in the same boat as Zetterberg, where he was slowing the game down end of career a little bit more and making things happen.
“I played with (Jack) Eichel in Vegas. He's a fast player, shoots the puck, passes, great vision. And obviously, in Pitt last year, Crosby, Malkin, different mindsets. Geno's skating everywhere super-fast, making plays happen. Sid is thinking the game way ahead of what's going to happen, and that's what makes all these players different and the best in the world. And you kind of take bits and pieces of every single one of those guys and their thinking and how they act off the ice and on ice, and you're building your own identity through all those Hall of Famers.”
Mantha has built his own identity through mental toughness and fortitude. He’ll bring that same mentality and drive to New Jersey for the next two years … or more.
“Yes, it is a two-year deal. My mentality is to make it longer,” he said. “It's to come in, have an impact right away, have two great years, get in that playoff spot. Guys texted me already from the team, and they're like, ‘We're right there. It's going to happen. Our mentality is good.’ So that's the goal, get in the playoffs, and from there, anything can happen, and have two great years, hopefully sign an extension. That's my mindset.
“I said I had a mindset last year coming back from injury. My new mindset on a two-year is to sign an extension. So, I'm coming in, and I'm doing everything I can to make that happen.”
