Swapping Anthony Mantha and Jacob Vrana was a good idea… conceptually. Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman felt he had reached his limits, as Mantha general manager and Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan felt he had reached an impasse with Vrána. Both general managers had talented players who were underperforming in their current environments.
As a result, both general managers felt there was no opportunity to resolve issues with players, at least in their current environments. It didn’t work out, but perhaps a change of scenery would be good for all parties.
The battle cry among fans for the first year after the trade was “Who won the deal?” This debate subsided over time as it became clear that no team would win the trade in the end. Simply put, the trade failed on both ends.
We don’t need to beat a dead horse and completely revisit the issues with each player (I’ve detailed Vrana’s plight here). But in short, Vrana had issues with power and motivation, among other things, and Mantha was labeled lazy and unable to score goals. As a result, the exchange took place.
Both players thrived in their first few matches with their new teams, when they were first introduced to a new (read: uncomfortable) situation. However, once the relief settled in, both players returned to their old, underwhelming ways.
The exchange was the right move. Yzerman and MacLellan are very bright individuals who have both built Stanley Cup winning teams. The concept was, in hindsight, generally a good idea: exchange two high-performance players and underperformers in hopes that they would thrive in another environment. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.
The Capitals are said to be looking to deal with Mantha and Vrána has already been traded from the Red Wings to the St. Louis Cardinals. This is a shame for the players and the fans.
We could discuss the specifics of the trade (draft picks, etc.) and probably for years to come, but the bottom line is that both general managers felt the need to do so. She just didn’t pay any dividends. And this will happen.
We’ve seen other players benefit from a change of scenery. Chandler Stephenson and Andrei Borakowski are good examples of players traded away who do well in their new environments, and Sonny Milano and Nicholas Op-Coppel are good examples of players who have benefited from a new life in Washington. Changing players’ “scenery” is a worthy endeavor, it has worked many times in the past, but not quite as successful in the Mantha and Vrana trade.
Written by John Sorensen