I keeping reading posts (elsewhere) about Mantha being lazy and inconsistent, and didn't score enough in Detroit, and Caps were idiots for letting a talent like Vrana go.
But...Manth was on a trash team, so his stats are not going to be like he's playing with Tampa or Colorado or the Caps who score a lot of goals. Or like on a team with multiple good scoring lines. Detroit has 99 goals this year (ouch). Mantha has 11g and 10A for 21 points making him the
best and most balanced scorer on the team.
Nobody on that team has more than 11 goals or 22 points TOTAL. Larkin has 8G, 14A. Hronek has 2G, 20A, Fabbri 10G 8A, Erne 11G 6A, etc.
It's easier to match up against teams like Detroit with only a few good scoring players, so it's easier to focus on them and shut them down.
I'm not saying Mantha would be a 30g guy somewhere else, but he was the best scorer on the team so that's got to come from somewhere. He scored 95G, 194 pts in 302 NHL games. That's .314 GPG and per game and .642 pts per game, all on a bottom feeder team. Vrana has 76G 81A in 284 games giving him .267 GPG and .552 pts per game and that's with Washington.
I would expect Mantha would score more with Washington than he did with Detroit based on the level of talent and scoring on both squads.
Vrana by comparison has 76G and 157pts in 284 games with the Caps (on a loaded team) and 11g, 14A this year on one of the best teams in hockey. I'm not knocking Vrana, but he and Mantha scored almost exactly the same number of goals/points, and Vrana is a very good team and is defensive liability almost anywhere on the ice.
Plus with his size Mantha brings more to the table. Forecheck, mucking, big shot, etc. Basically a true power forward (and a BIG one) which are very hard to come by these days.
Time will tell, but I'm hoping Mantha can make a really big impact here - especially when it comes to playoff style hockey. Detroit last made the playoffs in 2016 which is about when Mantha started (he played 60 games that year)
AND....If Vrana were living up to his great potential everyone keeps touting....He would have 25goals this season and he would still be here.
Geez....defending the guy already and he has yet to play a minute with Washington.