5 free agent forwards the St. Louis Blues can take from the Pacific Division
Anthony Mantha, W/Vegas Golden Knights
Much like Elias Lindholm, Anthony Mantha was a solid points producer for his former team before he went to the Vegas Golden Knights via trade. Mantha scored 20 goals for the Washington Capitals, and he put up an additional three in Vegas, but he also wasn’t contributing from a scoring standpoint at the same rate.
Yet, thanks to what was already a strong scoring cast in Vegas, Mantha also didn’t need to be one of the top goal-scorers with the Knights. Depth was all he needed to provide, and he did an outstanding job in the role.
In a place like St. Louis, Mantha would likely have a similar job, but his scoring could edge closer to what it was in Washington as opposed to Vegas. He could play middle-six minutes easily, and as with a player like Adam Henrique, among others, Mantha wouldn’t get in the way of many prospects working into the NHL ranks.
He could come in and play a full season in the middle-six in 2024-25, and if someone like Dalibor Dvorsky or Jimmy Snuggerud were deemed ready for the NHL in 2025-26, Mantha could then take on exclusively a bottom-six role. In the meantime, you could expect serviceable numbers from the 29-year-old.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)