Just after the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline had passed, it was announced that the Washington Capitals and Detroit Red Wings had made perhaps the biggest blockbuster deal of the season. The transaction involved top-six left-wing Anthony Mantha going to the District and top-six left-wing Jakub Vrana heading back to the Motor City. After March 4’s trade of Mantha joining the Vegas Golden Knights, NoVa Caps examines the aftermath of the 2021 trade between Washington and Detroit and see how it stands today.
April 12, 2021 — Washington Acquires Mantha From Detroit For Vrana, RW Richard Panik, 2021 23rd overall pick, 2022 52nd overall pick (LW Dmitri Buchelnikov)
With both Mantha and Vrana in the midst of disappointing seasons and Mantha getting tired of being on a rebuilding team, the teams pulled off the trade. Washington also freed up space under the NHL salary cap by dealing Panik and got some financial certainty after Mantha had just signed a four-year contract ($5.7 million cap hit) the previous fall. Vrana was approaching restricted free agency and had salary arbitration rights the upcoming summer. All three players served as healthy scratches for their respective teams leading up to the deadline.
With teams limited to scouting due to COVID-19 and many junior leagues shutting down for the season, Washington felt like draft picks in 2021 were more risky and paid a premium to make the deal happen after seeing a player who they liked available.
Mantha became the first Capital ever to score in each of his first four games with the team and finished the season with four goals and eight points in 14 regular-season games and two assists in five postseason outings. Despite undergoing shoulder surgery that forced him to miss four months during his first full season in Washington, he performed well with nine goals and 23 points in 37 games. The 2022-23 season was a struggle for Mantha as he was healthy scratched numerous times and finished with just 11 goals and 27 points in 67 games, sparking speculation that the Capitals could look to shop him. However, he was among the team’s best scorers on a squad that has struggled to find offense all season, tallying 20 goals and 34 points in 56 games before getting dealt to Sin City. Mantha was a healthy scratch one time in October, though.
Vrana earned eight goals, half of which came in one game, and 11 points in 11 games after the trade. Like Mantha, he undwerwent a shoulder procedure at the start of the 2021-22 campaign after signing a three-year contract ($5.25 million cap hit) and did not come back until March. Vrana returned to score 13 goals and 19 points in 26 games but was limited to just five with Detroit the following season after serving time in the NHL Player Assistance program and clearing waivers around the holidays. Detroit brought Vrana, who served as a healthy scratch at times for the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins during his stint there, up for three games near the trade deadline to showcase him for potential suitors and he finished with a goal and two points in five games with the NHL squad before getting traded again.
Panik, who was in the second year of his contract, finished the season with a goal and four points in 12 games with Detroit.
Buchelnikov has yet to play an NHL game.
July 16, 2021 — Detroit Deals Panik, 2021 52nd overall pick To New York Islanders For D Nick Leddy
Just over three months after the deal, Detroit dumped Panik’s contract and got some help on defense.
Panik cleared waivers again during training camp and appeared in just four games with New York, tallying one assist. He spent most of his time in the organization at the AHL level.
Despite having one season remaining on his contract, Panik went to Switzerland and played in the National League for the 2022-23 season.
July 23, 2021 — Detroit Trades 2021 23rd, 48th, 138th overall picks To Dallas Stars For 15th overall pick
Detroit used the pick Washington gave them to move up in the draft and select goaltender Sebastian Cossa, who is currently 13-7-8 with a .910 save percentage, 2.60 goals-against average, and a shutout in 28 games with Grand Rapids in his first professional season.
The pick that was originally Washington’s was used by Dallas to draft center Wyatt Johnston, who made the NHL squad after just one season and has tallied 50 goals and 94 points in 151 games over two seasons with the team. He has scored at least 24 goals in both seasons, including 26 goals and 53 points in 69 this year. Johnston also notched four goals and six points in 19 postseason games to help Dallas reach the Western Conference Final last season.
Defensemen Artem Grushnikov (48th) and Jack Bar (138th) were selected with the other picks by Dallas.
March 21, 2022 — Detroit Trades Leddy, D Luke Witkowski To St. Louis Blues For C Oskar Sundqvist, D Jake Walman, 2023 42nd overall pick (D Andrew Gibson)
After Panik was traded for Leddy during the offseason, Detroit flipped Leddy as part of a deal to land Walman, who has 21 goals (12 of which coming this season), 43 points (21), a +7 rating (+3), 47.04% five-on-five Corsi-for percentage (45.71%), 46.51% five-on-five expected goals-for percentage (43.65%), and 43.77% five-on-five scoring chances-for percentage (43.77%) while averaging 19:30 per game (19:55 — second among Red Wings defensemen), including 50 seconds (42) on the power play and 2:04 (2:30) on the penalty kill, in 142 games (60) with Detroit.
Sundqvist played 70 games with Detroit over two seasons, scoring 11 goals and 29 points, before getting flipped to the Minnesota Wild at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline for the 117th overall pick in last summer’s draft (which was used on defenseman Larry Keenan).
They were also able to recoup the second-round pick that they gave up to New York to take Panik’s contract.
March 3, 2023 — Detroit Sends Vrana To St. Louis For D Dylan McLaughlin, 2025 seventh-round pick
With Vrana having a tough season off of the ice, Detroit dealt him to St. Louis and retained 50% ($2.625 million) of his salary through the end of this season. They got assets who will never likely suit up for the NHL squad in return. Vrana has recorded 12 goals and 20 points in 41 games with St. Louis over the last two seasons before he cleared waivers in January. He has been in the AHL since.
February 28, 2024 — Dallas Trades Grushnikov, 2024 second-round pick, 2026 conditional third-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick To Calgary Flames/New Jersey Devils For Cole Brady, Chris Tanev
One of the selections whom Dallas made with one of the picks dealt by Detroit was shipped to Calgary in the trade that brought Tanev to the Lone Star State.
March 5, 2024 — Washington Trades Mantha To Vegas For 2024 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick
welcome to Vegas, Anthony Mantha!!! 👏 pic.twitter.com/KIdaYPcByL
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) March 15, 2024
With Washington selling at the trade deadline and Mantha eligible to become an unrestricted free agent in July, the team traded the 28-year-old, who was in the midst of a nice bounce back campaign, to the desert. Mantha has a goal in his first four games with Vegas. Washington did not rule out signing Mantha on July 1 when the market opens.
In conclusion
The team turned the five pieces involved in the April 2021 trade into the following today:
Washington: 2024 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick
Detroit: Walman, Cossa, Gibson, McLaughlin, Buchelnikov, 2025 seventh-round pick
While Vrana was more productive during the time that he played for Detroit, he barely stepped on the ice from his first full season in the organization onward. Mantha may have been inconsistent and disappointing at times, he had stretches where he was highly impactful, especially this season. Detroit has easily reaped more benefits out of this trade than Washington as they got their future starting goalie and a top-four defenseman in the prime of his career, among the assets that the team has cashed in for.
You could argue that Dallas is the real winner of this trade as they got Johnston and Tanev out of the assets that Washington and Detroit used from the Mantha-Vrana deal.
By Harrison Brown
