The New Jersey Devils are going into their matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs unexpectedly down a man. Anthony Mantha left Saturday night’s matchup after he took a high stick to the neck, and now he’s going to miss multiple games, according to the initial outlook from head coach Sheldon Keefe.
The Devils were forced to go with a lineup with just 11 forwards, something they really didn’t want to do. Because of the Connor Hellebuyck trade, the Devils' roster only has 21 players on it, and they don’t have an extra forward. Stefan Noesen is in the AHL for salary cap reasons, and the Devils didn’t have time to call anyone up.
I didn’t even think anything of this high stick at the time, this sucks. Mantha ended up taking one shift afterwards #NJDevils https://t.co/v3MURRiN2b pic.twitter.com/rIohv2mga4
— Josh (@joshlangerr) November 8, 2026
So, 11-7 it was against the Maple Leafs.
This is obviously not a long-term solution, but the Devils have to figure out who the best player to call up would be right now. In a normal cap world, that would be Noesen, but they can’t afford him right now, even after the Remi Poirier trade.
The most popular names we’re hearing are Colin White and Lenni Hameenaho. The issue with White is he would have to go through waivers to return to the AHL once Mantha is healthy. Hameenaho is still waivers exempt.
This has already come up with this exact player. Mantha was hurt against the Vegas Golden Knights when he slid hard into the net, but luckily for the Devils, he was able to return for the next game. This time, he wasn’t so lucky.
Anthony Mantha has a history of injuries that has to worry the Devils
While it’s not like the Devils could have predicted a throat injury for Mantha, it’s not like he’s been the pillar of health in his career. In fact, his lack of health is why he probably spent so long in free agency this past offseason.
The Devils won’t want Mantha to miss much time with an important stretch coming up. This week alone, they have Connor Hellebuyck’s return to Winnipeg, and two games against the Washington Capitals. Those intra-division games are especially needed with the Devils expected to compete with the Caps for playoff positioning, and possibly a spot altogether.
It’s hard to predict a throat injury. It’s not like they happen very often. For now, we hope Mantha is back by the end of the week. That's important for the Devils to remain consistent with their lineup and put their best foot forward.
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