Flames lose in overtime to Av's

As the last of the Flames were boarding the late-night flight home to Calgary, they could hear a loud thumping noise throughout the airport. As the players were boarding and taking their seats, they all looked out of their windows and all they could see was a large Colorado Sasquatch running towards them, as he approached it was noticed that it was Anthony Mantha running towards them. Thinking Mantha was there to make fun of them for scoring the overtime winner he was ignored.

Turns out, Mantha had grabbed the scorecard and was running to the Airport to give it to the Flames players. On the scorecard, he had scratched out his name on the Colorado side and replaced it with a chicken scratch drawing of the Flames logo in the hopes of bringing the extra point back to Calgary. Turns out that Mantha had been traded to the Flames. Feeling dejected and frustrated after losing for the first time this season in overtime to the Colorado Avalanche GM Steve went out and made a move to bolster the offense.  GM Steve and GM Kirkland had quick conversations after the game and as a result going to Colorado is highly touted prospect Carson Lambos and a conditional 2022 1^st for Anthony Mantha. If the Flames don’t make the playoffs, the Flames will send a 2022 2^nd (from Buffalo) and the Kraken 5^th rounder.

When reached late last night, GM Steve had this to say, “I don’t like moving 1^st round picks, and so far this season some futures have been sent out the door, however, the team has gotten off to a strong start so I want to give the team every chance to succeed. History will show this is the first time that GM Steve has moved his own 1^st round pick since joining the Flames and EHE. In this deal, it’s a gamble due to Manthas injury history however if the Flames make the playoffs the pick becomes a mid to late 1^st rounder, and we feel we can get a strong enough player in the 2^nd round to minimize the impact. Losing Lambos was a tough call as well, as I also don’t generally move players I have drafted, especially after all the time scouting them. We feel that Lambos will have a bright future ahead but we wouldn’t see that for a couple of years. Getting Mantha who comes to Calgary on a 4-year term now sends a message to the rest of the team that we are ready to take the next step”.  

So who is Anthony Mantha? Well, Mantha is from Longueuil Quebec, and in the 2013/14 season, he was won the top scorer, Most Valuable, and CHL Player of the year while playing in the QMJHL. He has also represented Canada 3 times in the international play. He has played in the World Juniors in 2012 and 2014, while also representing Canada at the World Championship in 2019. His paternal grandfather was also a 4 times Stanley Cup Championship while his sister was one of the first 10 females to referee in the AHL in October 2021. So hockey is in his family.

Mantha who stands at 6 ft 5 and 234 lbs is a big body who brings a scoring touch and net-front presence. Once he gets into Calgary we won’t hesitate to put him on the wing next to Elias Pettersson, who we feel will benefit from having Mantha on his wing. 

As for the scorecard that Mantha grabbed, sadly the league won’t give the point to the Flames, however, Mantha is now back home in Canada, swapping the Colorado Rocky Mountain Sasquatch for the Alberta Rocky Mountain Big Foot identity.

Welcome to Calgary Anthony.