'I'll Be Ready': Penguins' Mantha Sets Goal To Hit

In the summer of 2024, the Pittsburgh Penguins had, apparently, reached out to then-free agent forward Anthony Mantha.

“Last summer, when I was a free agent, they were scooping around,” Mantha said Monday to Pittsburgh reporters. “They offered something last summer. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite go that way.”

Well, fast forward one year later, and Kyle Dubas and the Penguins reached out once again. But, this time, everything fell into place. On Jul. 2, Mantha – the 20th overall pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2013 – agreed to terms on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, which came following a Nov. 5 ACL injury that ended his 2024-25 season with the Calgary Flames after just 13 games played.

It has been a long, long road to recovery for Mantha, and there is still a ways to go heading into training camp. But the 6-foot-5, 234-pound right winger has made it his goal to be ready for training camp and for the season – and he doesn’t plan on letting up.

“It feels great, but it’s been a long time,” Mantha said. “I should be ready for camp. That was my main goal when I did get surgery… I mean, it’s going to be almost 10 months post-op at the start of camp. So, I should be all set and running, and I’ll be ready. That’s the ultimate goal, and that’s exactly what I told [Pittsburgh] when we were talking to each other over the summer.”

And the decision to come to Pittsburgh is something that, kind of, fell into place for Mantha, who admits that his injury led to a pretty high degree of uncertainty heading into free agency this season. 

“For me, obviously, playing 13 games last year was, kind of, ‘Which team would give me a chance?’” Mantha said. “And, luckily enough, [Pittsburgh] came through and, I think, gave me a great opportunity and great deal from the start of free agency, and it was hard to look past them this year. 

“I’m just excited to join the Penguins, and like I said, after 13 games, I didn’t know what to expect over the…