Mantha moved at deadline
Flat cap or not, the Capitals refused to stand by as division foes improved their rosters without making a move at the NHL trade deadline Monday.
Not long after the Bruins got 2018 league MVP Taylor Hall from Buffalo, the Capitals mortgaged part of their future to acquire forward Anthony Mantha from the Red Wings.
With the championship window beginning to close on the Alex Ovechkinled roster, Washington went allin on
Mantha by trading wingers Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, a 2021 first and a 2022 secondround pick to Detroit.
Mantha, 26, is a twotime 20goal scorer who uses his 6foot5, 234pound frame to create space. He is signed for three more seasons at a salarycap hit of $5.7 million.
So much for the notion that the cap, which remained flat at $81.5 million, would prevent every team from swinging a blockbuster deal at the deadline. The cap did not budge from last season, a result of the economic blow suffered by the NHL during the pandemic that hit U.S. sports 13 months ago.
Washington also acquired Michael Raffl from the Flyers.
Hall didn’t produce in Buffalo after signing a oneyear, $8 million deal. He had two goals and 19 points in 37 games.
Other deals: Florida got center Sam Bennett in a trade that sent prospect forward Emil Heineman and a secondround pick to Calgary; Vegas acquired center Mattias Janmark from Chicago; and Colorado brought back forward Carl Soderberg in a trade that sent forwards Ryder Rolston and Josh Dickinson to Chicago. Also, Edmonton got Dmitry Kulikov from New Jersey, Winnipeg added Jordie Benn from Vancouver, and Montreal traded with Philadelphia for Erik Gustafsson.
MONDAY’S GAMES
Avalanche 4, Coyotes 2: Mikko Rantanen had two goals and host Colorado won its eighth in nine games. Brandon Saad and Nathan MacKinnon also scored as the Avalanche improved to 12-0-1 in their past 13 games at Ball Arena, the fourth longest home point streak in franchise history. Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves for his career-high 25th win.
Golden Knights 4, Kings 2: Down 2-0, visiting Vegas scored two in the second and two more in the third for its 28th win, tied for second most in the league. Max Pacioretty, Nicolas Roy, Mark Stone and Alex Tuch scored for the Golden Knights.
Blackhawks 4, Blue Jackets 3: Brandon Hagel scored 1:25 into overtime in Columbus, and Chicago beat the Blue Jackets for the fifth consecutive time.
Red Wings 3, Hurricanes 1: Adam Erne and Filip Zadina scored two quick third-period goals while Jonathan Bernier finished with 37 saves to lift visiting Detroit.
Canadiens 4, Maple Leafs 2: Tomas Tatar scored twice as Montreal ended visiting Toronto’s six-game win streak. It was the first loss of the year for Jack Campbell, who set an NHL record with 11 straight wins to start a season.
Senators 4, Jets 2: Brady Tkachuk scored twice and Connor Brown grew his franchise-record goal-scoring streak to eight games for host Ottawa.
Briefly: The Blues-Wild game was postponed after a police shooting heightened tensions in the Twin Cities . ... All-Star Tyler Seguin of Dallas, out after hip surgery, could make his season debut in two weeks.