Free-Agent Anthony Mantha To Sign With 1 Of 3 Teams

The NHL's free-agent market may be paper thin with game changers, but that doesn't mean there isn't some top-six talent still available to sign.

Free-agent winger Anthony Mantha is the 'best of the rest' at the moment, as the 33-goal scorer from last season is still without a contract. Last season, Mantha had a stellar bounce-back campaign with the Penguins, and despite not playing heavy minutes, was able to put up some big numbers, with 64 points in 81 games. Mantha averaged just 15:11 of ice-time per game.

There's been plenty of action so far throughout the free-agent market, and along with Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Patrik Laine, give onlooking teams options for their top six, some with a little more risk than others.

Mantha's searching for a four-to-five year contract, which was one thing the Penguins had no interest in. Word is Kyle Dubas offered Mantha a two-year contract for around $7 million AAV, but that was turned down weeks before the free-agent market opened.

As far as potential destinations go, the Seattle Kraken, Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are the three teams to keep an eye on. The Kraken have been trying hard to land another top-six winger, and had a blockbuster trade vetoed by Dallas Stars' Jason Robertson.

The Canadiens need some more size up front and are reportedly interested in the french-speaking Mantha, however, they're attention could shift solely on finding another center. The Blackhawks are the dark horse, as they're waiting to hear how bad Connor Bedard's shoulder injury is before making another drastic move to their salary cap.