from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Anthony Mantha bet on himself two years ago and the gamble might pay off handsomely this summer.

Then a restricted free agent, Mantha signed a two-year contract worth $6.6 million, preferring to do a short-term deal rather than sign anything long-term and take him off the unrestricted free agent market for many years.

Mantha and his representatives wanted the shorter deal, believing he had more within him – more goals, more assists, more impact. Mantha believed he was simply becoming a better player....

This summer, players slightly younger than Mantha – and not that far ahead of him statistically – were signing contracts in the range of $6 to $10 million per year, raising the bar on deals for young stars in the NHL.

Mantha took notice of the deals.

“That’s just part of the sport right now,” said Mantha after practice this week. “There’s big numbers out there. But to have big numbers, you need to have big numbers.”

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