There are a couple of major milestones that stand out for NHLers.
We’re talking about games played here, and getting to 1,000 is huge. We’ll see that when Mikael Backlund hits quadruple digits on Oct. 30 in Utah.
And generally, getting to 100 games means you’ve made it — and 500 games is a big one, too.
On Tuesday, Anthony Mantha will have his dad at the Saddledome as he skates in the 500th game of his career. It’s a big deal.
But in Mantha’s eyes, there’s always one milestone that sticks out.
“You forgot about No. 1,” Mantha said with a smile. “Your first is probably the biggest one. I think it’s number one and 1,000 and then for me, it’s probably 500. It’s Year 10 for me and it feels longer with all the games I missed, but we still got here and I’ll enjoy it.
“When you start in the NHL you don’t know how many games you’ll play and you definitely don’t know if you’ll get to 500. They’re good milestones.”
Mantha’s got a lot of memories in the bank from the 499 NHL games he’s played so far in his career, but he’s sincere when he says that his first game in the best league in the world sticks with him.
He vividly remembers the game, and one play in particular.
“I hit a post on a breakaway against Philly, that’s what I remember,” Mantha said. “My family was all in town and a couple of my buddies, too, and I wish I had that breakaway back and put it in.”
He’s put the puck in the back of the net plenty of times since, scoring 144 goals and adding 156 assists so far throughout his career.
And he’s looking to make many more memories now that he’s playing with the Calgary Flames.
Signed to a one-year contract on the opening day of free agency, Mantha has already made a mark with the surprising Flames playing alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil.
He recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in their season opener against the Vancouver Canucks, and has scored two goals and added two assists in five games so far, as the Flames have shot out to a 4-0-1 record.
The challenge for Mantha is going to be taking what he’s done early in the year and doing it game after game all season long. Consistency has been the 30-year-old’s biggest challenge throughout his 499-game career, after all.
“He’s a better player when his feet are moving,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “He’s a big man that’s hard to handle. If he’s controlling the puck and he’s driving defencemen wider and getting to the net without the puck, he’s a very dangerous player.
“I think some of the conversations we’ve had with him are about consistency. We want him to be a guy who makes an impact every night. I know you’re not going to have your A-game every night, but if you’re off a little bit, it should still be a B+ game.”
So far, Mantha seems to be meeting those expectations. There were questions about how his new line would work, especially because Pospisil had never played centre in the NHL prior to this season.
But the early returns have been positive. Even in the Flames’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken on Saturday night, the trio created chances and were hard on the puck in a game where offensive space was hard to come by.
“It’s only four games, right? It’s a tiny section of the year,” Mantha said. “For me, right now, I’m going game-by-game and that’s my mentality and I just want to give my best.”