NHLTR Mock Trade: Washington Capitals deal Anthony Mantha to the Edmonton Oilers

Our mock trade series continues with a potential deal between the Washington Capitals and Edmonton Oilers. The Capitals are expected to re-tool before the trade deadline and sell off some assets, meanwhile the Oilers are expected to be one of the busier teams trying to add talent before March 8.

NHLTR Mock Trade: Caps move Anthony Mantha (50% retained) to the Oilers for 2024 second-round pick & Brett Kulak

The Oilers have Philip Broberg waiting in the wings and for regular NHL minutes and are looking to free up a roster spot for him long term. Kulak's making $2.75 million for two more seasons and is a prime candidate to get moved before March 8. He'll need to in this deal if the Oilers want any chance of being able to add Mantha and his $5.7 million salary.

The second-round pick here is the prize, however Kulak gives the Caps a legitimate blueliner to move forward with and someone who can help them get to the playoffs next season. Mantha on the other hand is the type of secondary scoring the Oilers need more of and his 5vs5 production this season has been amongst the best in the league.

Mantha has recorded 19 goals and 33 points in 55 games and was recently a hot topic of discussion in a trade roundtable at Daily Faceoff. Scott Maxwell had this to say about a potential Mantha deal:

If a team looking to add offense strikes out on Guentzel or Pavel Buchnevich, Mantha is a sneaky good add as a depth-scoring option. While his 18 goals in 54 games isn’t overly crazy, it’s the rate at which he’s scoring that is more impressive, as his 1.55 5v5 goals per 60 minutes ranks fifth in the league. Imagine him scoring at that pace in Edmonton on Leon Draisaitl’s wing instead of Warren Foegele

Marek on 32TP wonders about Anthony Mantha in Edmonton, obvious Holland connection, he drafted him in Detroit.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) February 26, 2024