Film Room: How the Washington Capitals can maximize Anthony Mantha's unique skills

Just when it seemed like the trade deadline was going to pass without much fuss, the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals gave us a buzzer-beating blockbuster.

Detroit sent Anthony Mantha to Washington for Jakub Vrána, Richard Pánik, a 2021 first-round pick, and a 2022 second-round pick.

The appeal of Mantha, even at this price point, is obvious: There just aren’t many players with his combination of tools and skills. He’s tall, moderately quick, and skilled. Unfortunately for Mantha, though, those unique qualities carry unrealistic expectations; that he should be a power forward, that he should be steamrolling over defenders to get to the net, and that he should be a battle-winning machine. He’s none of those things, and at this stage, he probably never will be.