Overview
- Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas said in Mantha’s exit interview on Wednesday that Mantha made his intentions clear and that Dubas has not yet spoken to the player’s agent.
- Mantha finished the 2025–26 regular season with a career-high 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games on a one-year, $2.5 million deal.
- Crossing the 80-game mark reportedly activated a $2 million performance bonus for Mantha and added to his bargaining leverage for free agency.
- Mantha managed one assist in Pittsburgh’s six-game first-round loss and still has not scored a playoff goal in 20 career postseason appearances.
- If Mantha signs elsewhere it will complicate the Penguins’ offseason because they have roughly $42 million to allocate among other pending UFAs, including Evgeni Malkin, and several expiring contracts; some outlets project Mantha could command about $6.4 million per year on a multi-year deal.