Ex-Red Wing Anthony Mantha in trouble with Caps!

The Detroit Red Wings pulled off one of the 2021 NHL season's Trade Deadline's biggest moves, acquiring forwards Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik along with a 1st and 2nd round draft pick in exchange for underachieving forward Anthony Mantha.

Of course, Red Wings fans are all too familiar with the fact that despite being clearly talented along with the body of a prototypical power forward, Mantha is prone to extreme laziness and stretches of play where he can be virtually invisible on the ice. He's entered his first full season with the Capitals this year (he missed nearly half of the schedule last season with a shoulder injury), and he's been extremely underwhelming, to say the least. 

He hasn't scored in his last seven games and has also gone pointless in his past six. For a Capitals team that has struggled in large part so far this season, they absolutely need more out of him.

“Usually guys that score goals will find a way,” head coach Peter Laviolette explained when talking about Mantha's lack of offensive punch. 

Mantha currently has five goals and five assists along with a less than spectacular minus-10 plus/minus rating so far in the 23 games that he's skated in, which puts him on pace for 18 goals and 18 assists. 

It would be wrong to say that Mantha is a lost cause, given the fact that he can get extremely hot at various points during the year. Red Wings fans will remember how he scored four goals during their home opener against the Dallas Stars to kick off what would be a disastrous 2019-20 campaign, while also tallying a career high 25 goals in just 67 games the previous season.

For the Capitals, who are one game below the .500 mark as the month of December approaches, they'll need much more out of Mantha if they expect to contend for a postseason spot.