Devils put Anthony Mantha on LTIR with throat injury

Mantha took a high stick to the throat in Saturday's overtime win over the Islanders. By Wednesday afternoon the Devils were reshuffling the roster around him.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Lenni Hämeenaho is on his way to #NJDevils. He gets a recall. Tough to see Anthony Mantha go on LTIR, he was really starting to gel with this group. Devils host the Caps tomorrow night.

New Jersey Devils

@NJDevils

We've announced the following roster moves: ♦️ Anthony Mantha (throat) placed on LTIR, retroactive to November 7. ♦️ Riley Tufte loaned to Utica (AHL). ♦️ Lenni Hameenaho and Stefan Noesen recalled from Utica. t.co/mkqTFPh6KW

That hurts. New Jersey signed Mantha in July to a 2-year, $9.5 million deal that carries a $4.75 million cap hit through 2027-28. He was coming off the best year of his career: 33 goals and 64 points in 81 games for Pittsburgh in 2025-26, his first 30-goal season. A 31-year-old winger signed to score goals had just started to fit in with this team, and now he's out for weeks.

The date it's backdated to is the part that matters for when he can come back. LTIR has a minimum stay, and starting the clock on Nov. 7 instead of Wednesday gives Mantha a few days back.

Amanda Stein

@amandacstein

Mantha's injury is retroactive to Nov. 7, which is important when counting the number of days. A player on LTIR has to miss at least 10 games and 24 calendar days.

Nick aka broken stinger 🦂.

@kolakowski316

@amandacstein When can he return from ltir

If you do the math, 24 calendar days from Nov. 7 is Dec. 1, and he also has to miss at least 10 games. That's the earliest he could return. The team hasn't given a return date. All anyone has said is that he'll be out for multiple weeks.

Hameenaho is the call-up to watch. He spent a decent chunk of last season in New Jersey, and he's been one of Utica's most productive forwards this year.

Anthony Corona

@ACoronaNJD

Lenni Hameenaho had two goals and six assists in 33 games played with the Devils last season. (25-26) Hameenaho has six goals and three assists in 11 games played with the Utica Comets this season. #NJDevils

Noesen is the veteran of the 2. He's already played 5 games with the Devils this season and has a goal and 2 assists, so he isn't new to the room. Riley Tufte went the other way to Utica so the whole thing fits under the cap, and the order the Devils made the moves in was deliberate.

PuckPedia

@PuckPedia

The #NJDevils made moves in this order: -Sent down Tufte -Called up Hameenaho -Put Mantha on LTIR -Then called up Noesen This allowed them to have a more optimal LTIR capture compared to putting Mantha on LTIR before calling up Hameenaho, and allows them to include his PB's in their LTIR pool. After calling up Noesen, they have $2.7M Cap Space remaining in LTIR. t.co/jOaJ4l6ykp

Here's the short version. Putting Mantha on LTIR after calling up Hameenaho, not before, gave New Jersey a bigger relief pool, and performance bonuses count toward it too. Even after recalling Noesen, they still have $2.7 million of LTIR room left. That's a lot of flexibility for a front office in mid-November. Hameenaho and Noesen get their first chance Thursday against Washington. If one of them takes Mantha's spot in the top 9 and runs with it, losing a 30-goal guy for a month won't hurt nearly as much.