It has been a very quiet free agency and really offseason so far for the Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney. There are still some interesting free agents available that could be seen as fits to help next year and beyond.
One of those free agents is Anthony Mantha. The 31-year-old veteran put up 33 goals and 64 points in 81 regular-season games this past season. Boston added JJ Peterka in a trade with the Utah Mammoth on June 26 to bolster their depth scoring. However, the results were mixed as to whether or not Mantha would be a good fit for the Black and Gold. On Tuesday morning, he was the latest player to come off the free agent board.
Devils sign Anthony Mantha to a two-year contract
Elliotte Friedman reported on Tuesday morning, Mantha agreed to a two-year contract with the New Jersey Devils with an AAV of $4.75 million. That is a deal that some Bruins would have liked and some, well, not so much, had Sweeney done it. The move keeps Mantha in the Metropolitan Division for a couple of more years, unless he's traded at some point.
Mantha is someone who could have added some depth scoring and would have cost a little bit less than what it would have taken to re-sign Viktor Arvidsson, who bolted for the Detroit Red Wings in free agency. His numbers were a tad better than Arvidsson's last year.
Sweeney has some more additions that need to be made to the roster for the upcoming season. Another top-six center and right-shot defenseman. Peterka is a nice addition, but if Boston has visions of making the playoffs again next season, the roster is going to need some upgrades after most of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference got better over the offseason.
