During Todd Nelson’s first year as head coach of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins, Anthony Mantha scored 21 goals and 45 points in 60 games.
“It's the year he kind of pushed me forward and I took a good step forward, meaning after that, I didn't see him again in the American League,” said Mantha, the Red Wings’ first-round pick in 2013. “So, he helped me take that step and bring me to the NHL level.”
They are reuniting in Pittsburgh for the 2025-26 season, with Nelson being named an assistant coach and Mantha signing a one-year contract with an average annual value of $2.5 million, along with ample opportunity for performance bonuses.
The 30-year-old forward brings 10 years of NHL experience and an impressive combination of size (6-foot-5, 243 pounds) and skill. He has recorded 146 goals, 157 assists and 303 points in 507 games with Calgary, Vegas, Washington and Detroit.
And while Mantha underwent season-ending knee surgery in November, limiting him to just 13 contests with the Flames, he is feeling great and ready to put the toughest injury of his career behind him.
“It's been a long time. I should be ready for camp. That was my main goal when I did get surgery,” Mantha said. “It's going to be almost 10 months post-op at the start of camp, so I should be all set and running. I'll be ready. That's the ultimate goal, and that's exactly what I told Pitt when we were talking to each other over the summer.”
The Penguins have had interest in Mantha for some time now. As Pittsburgh's President of Hockey Operations and GM Kyle Dubas said on The Hockey PDOcast, “he has always been a player that right from the draft all the way through, people view as having tremendous potential.”
Talks took place last summer, but Mantha ultimately signed with Calgary. This summer, Mantha didn’t know what to expect around July 1 after what he went through last season.
“Luckily enough, Pitt came through, and I think gave me a great opportunity and great deal from the start of free agency,” Mantha said. “It was hard to look past them, and I'm just excited to join the Penguins.”
The Penguins were happy to give the three-time 20-goal scorer an opportunity, with Dubas saying, “he can come in here, coming off the injury, with an incentive-laden deal and prove it. And given his age, be a part of helping the team move ahead and get back to where we want to go.”
Mantha has been working hard to ensure he will have an impact. He got back on the ice this month and said there will be a lot of skating for the remainder of the offseason. Mantha also hopes to get some scrimmage action, along with plenty of puck touches and shots. Once training camp begins, Mantha said he needs to treat it like the season is already underway.
“I need to really get back into it, really focus and play my best hockey from camp on,” said Mantha, who has put more of an emphasis on defense over the past couple of years, while still doing what he does best in the offensive zone. "If I have a good chance at shooting the puck, I'll shoot it. I won't think twice about it."
After getting the opportunity to play with a solid core in Washington that included the greatest goal scorer of all-time, assisting on Alex Ovechkin’s 800th tally, Mantha is looking forward to being teammates with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson.
“It's going to be learning from them, just learning from the best,” Mantha said. “Hopefully, I get to play with a couple of them on my line or here and there, and where things go from there... I mean, just those four guys, they could switch an entire season around.
“For me, it's to bring the best hockey I can... find some confidence, and make things happen.”
