Mantha said the Devils committing to a two-year contract was a major factor in his decision to sign with New Jersey.
“It's huge," he said Friday. "I mean, (general manager) Sunny (Mehta) made it clear from our first conversations that he loved the way I played, even back when he was in Florida and I was still in (Washington), I believe, at that time and we played in playoffs against them.
"He said (Devils players) were talking about your stats last year and he's like, 'I don't look at those. I didn't even know how many goals you had. I look at advanced stats and those numbers.' He's like, 'That's what was (most impressive) to me and that's why I want you on my team.'"
Mantha said a look at the Devils roster made him excited about his new team.
“Obviously, it's all about chemistry in this league and there's a lot of talented players on the roster. You can go from the first to the fourth and the three pairings on D, and you see a lot of talent. I'm just eager to get in there. It’s up to the coach, but 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.”
He even took it a step further, on the topic of potential linemates.
“I mean, I won't lie," Mantha said. "If I tell you that (center Jack) Hughes and (forward Jesper) Bratt are probably two linemates I would love to try and love to find their chemistry. They're so good, so talented, so fast. But 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.”
Mantha said his physical and mental health each played a large role to what he accomplished last season -- including knee problems that limited him prior to that -- and he looks to build on that heading into his 12th NHL season.
“My body is feeling great," he said. "I mean ... I was able to play every game and it felt good. I took care of my body. The knee is great. I think I got the results I wanted because of the mindset I came in with last year. I've said it publicly in the past. I've been working with a mental coach for many years now and my thinking was to be the most talked-about player last year. And if I wasn't in the conversation, I was damn close to hitting my objective, and that's the mentality I came in with.”
Selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round (No. 20) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Mantha has 367 points (179 goals, 188 assists) in 588 regular-season games for the Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Vegas Golden Knights, Calgary Flames and Penguins and seven assists in 20 playoff games.
NHL.com senior draft writer Mike G. Morreale contributed to this report
