To the hockey world, it was the stunner of the deadline. To Steve Yzerman, it was just another trade, just another move to make the Red Wings better.
"To me, it's not an earth-shattering trade," Yzerman said Monday afternoon after sending Anthony Mantha to the Capitals for a haul of picks and players. "It's certainly not Wayne Gretzky getting traded to the Los Angeles Kings."
No, but this was the closest thing within the scope of the Red Wings' rebuild. This was the clearest pivot in the club's path under Yzerman, from banking on Mantha as a core player five months ago to cashing him in for assets. The Wings might be waiting on the future, but the future doesn't wait.
Mantha was supposed to take his game to the next level this season after signing a four-year, $22.8 million contract. Instead he regressed. For one night in February, the Wings felt they were a better team without Mantha on the ice. By April, Yzerman felt they were a better organization with two more picks and two more players than Mantha alone.
The trade doesn't get done without the first-rounder in 2021 and the second-rounder in 2022. Nor does it get done without 25-year-old forward Jakub Vrana. Richard Panik helped make the money work, but otherwise the assets for Detroit were created equal. Vrana has .71 points per game over the last two seasons, compared to .69 for Mantha.
"Jakub has two years until free agency, so we have a little flexibility there. We felt like we can get a replacement for Anthony and add picks as well, so it was just a fit for a trade," Yzerman said. "I think Anthony Mantha is a really talented hockey player and I expect him to do well in Washington, but ultimately we thought this trade made sense for us in the near term and moving forward."
Mantha, a first-round pick in 2013, has been a good player on bad teams in Detroit. Vrana, a first-round pick in 2014, has been a good player on great teams in Washington. His numbers are a down from last year to this year, but the hope is that he'll be rejuvenated with more ice time with the Wings. He has 25 points in 39 games this season, four more points than Mantha in three fewer games. Vrana's also played about four minutes fewer per night.
"Both were underperforming their historic statistics, but we look for Jakub to play a bigger role," Yzerman said. "He's been on a very, very good team in Washington with a lot of talent. We’re hoping he can play a bigger role on our team and thrive in that."
Yzerman said he talked to a few different teams about Mantha. He might not admit it, but he was clearly of a mind to move a player whose effort continues to fluctuate in his fifth NHL season, whose presence waned in a year the Wings expected it to wax. On his best nights, Mantha is a beast. But those nights aren't most nights, and most nights is the minimum expectation of a core player.
Yzerman could have waited until the draft to put Mantha on the block. He said he mulled that option. He knows he might have found more suitors, with more than just Cup contenders in the mix. But the market was the market and Mantha is Mantha, and Yzerman was done waiting for more.
"I liked the deal enough to do it now," he said.