Devils sign Anthony Mantha to two-year contract

One of the most notable NHL players available in unrestricted free agency is finally off the board two weeks after the July 1 opening of the free agency window.

The New Jersey Devils announced on Wednesday morning that they have signed veteran winger Anthony Mantha to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4.75 million.

Mantha will provide scoring depth on the wing to a New Jersey team that badly needs it, as just four of the team’s wingers scored at least 10 goals during the 2025-26 season.

The 31-year-old Quebec native is coming off a one-year tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins that saw him completely revitalize his career. After injury-plagued 2023-24 and 2024-25 campaigns limited him to three and four goals in each season, respectively, Mantha racked up 33 goals and 31 assists for 64 points in 81 games in the black and gold.

When healthy, Mantha has been an effective goalscorer throughout the entirety of his career. Chosen with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft by the Detroit Red Wings, he has scored at least 20 goals in all but one season in which he has played at least 60 games.

This signing marks another major move for new Devils general manager Sunny Mehta as he gets to work on building his roster. Earlier in the summer, Mehta dealt pending restricted free agent defenseman Simon Nemec for a haul of draft capital to the Calgary Flames.

He acquired Evan Rodrigues from the Florida Panthers as part of a deal that sent veteran goalie Jacob Markstrom to Sunrise, and now with Rodrigues and Mantha in the fold, Mehta has considerably upgraded New Jersey’s group of middle-six wingers.

The Devils are coming off of a missed postseason in a year where poor goaltending and injuries to star center Jack Hughes prevented them from gaining traction. New Jersey finished with a 42-37-3 record that placed them seventh in the Metropolitan Division.