The Washington Capitals acquired forward Anthony Mantha, left, in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

The Washington Capitals made the biggest deal of NHL trade deadline day by acquiring big forward Anthony Mantha from the Detroit Red Wings.

The Capitals in win-now mode traded wingers Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, a 2021 first- and 2022 second-round pick to Detroit for Mantha, who at 6-foot-5 and 234 pounds fits in with their heavy approach. The 26-year-old is signed for three more seasons at a salary-cap hit of $5.7 million.

“We’ve been aggressive,” Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said. “It wasn’t a conscious decision, ‘Let’s shake the team up.’ I think we’ve had a good year so far. … Things lined up, and this is what we ended up doing.”

Washington made the move after the other playoff teams in the East Division all made additions. After the New York Islanders got forward Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri from New Jersey, the Boston Bruins acquired Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar and Mike Reilly, and the Pittsburgh Penguins added Jeff Carter.

Only 17 trades were completed Monday, involving just 26 players. That’s down from the NHL trade deadline day record of 32 deals involving 55 players a year ago, two weeks before the coronavirus pandemic paused the season and dealt a devastating blow to the league’s financial picture.

The previous time fewer players were dealt on deadline day was 23 in the NHL’s pre-salary cap area on March 14, 2000.

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“It’s not like the old days where if you just want a player, you go make a deal,” Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said. “Lots more maneuvering, a lot more involved in it.”

Predators GM David Poile projected the cap to continue restricting teams for the foreseeable future.

“I think you just sort of saw the tip of the iceberg with what took place here with the trading deadline,” Poile said. “There wasn’t too many deals made in this last two or three days that had players that had more than this year’s contract left, and that speaks to the salary cap not going up.”

There were 16 draft picks that moved Monday, with just one first-round selection, three second-rounders and one third-round pick.

KINGS: Forward Alex Iafallo agreed to a four-year, $16 million contract extension with the Kings, a day after Los Angeles traded veteran power forward Jeff Carter in the latest step of a lengthy franchise rebuild.

After Carter and the Kings made the bittersweet mutual decision to allow the 36-year-old power forward to pursue another Stanley Cup title in Pittsburgh, general manager Rob Blake succeeded in his lengthy quest to keep the speedy Iafallo, one of the best recent additions to a struggling franchise.

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PANTHERS: Florida sent a 2022 second-round pick and 2020 second-rounder Emil Heineman to the Calgary Flames for the 24-year-old forward and a sixth-rounder.

“Sam is a skilled and versatile forward who plays the game with a great level of competitiveness, physicality and leadership,” Panthers general manager Bill Zito said. “He is a young player who possesses solid experience in the postseason and will be an exciting addition to our lineup.”

GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Vegas acquired center Mattias Janmark from the Chicago Blackhawks. Janmark played against the Golden Knights during the 2020 bubble playoffs with the Dallas Stars.

SABRES: Buffalo goalie Linus Ullmark is staying put with first-year GM Kevyn Adams calling it a priority to re-sign the third-year starter before he’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

MONDAY’S GAMES

BLACKHAWKS 4, BLUE JACKETS 3: Brandon Hagel scored 1:25 into overtime, and visiting Chicago beat Columbus for its fifth consecutive win over the Blue Jackets.

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Duncan Keith, Philipp Kurashev and Brett Connolly also scored for Chicago, and Patrick Kane had two assists. The Blackhawks won for the third time in four games to move within two points of idle Nashville for the fourth playoff spot in the Central Division. It was Connolly’s first game since he was acquired in a trade with Florida last week. He had two goals and two assists in 21 games with the Panthers.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 30 shots for his fifth win over Columbus this season.

CANADIENS 4, MAPLE LEAFS 2: Tomas Tatar scored two goals – including an empty-netter – and Montreal beat visiting Toronto to end the Maple Leafs’ six-game winning streak.

Nick Suzuki and Josh Anderson also scored for the Canadiens, who won for the first time in four games. Auston Matthews and John Tavares replied for the visiting Maple Leafs.

It was the first loss of the year for Toronto goalie Jack Campbell, who set an NHL record with 11 straight wins to start a season. It was Toronto’s first regulation defeat since dropping a 4-3 decision to the Calgary Flames on March 19.

SENATORS 4, JETS 2: Brady Tkachuk scored twice, Connor Brown extended his franchise-record goal-scoring streak to eight games and host Ottawa beat Winnipeg.

Evgenii Dadonov also scored and Thomas Chabot and Josh Norris each had two assists as Ottawa rallied from two goals down and ended a four-game losing streak. Anton Forsberg was impressive in goal after a shaky start with 24 saves.

RED WINGS 3, HURRICANES 1: Adam Erne and Filip Zadina scored two quick third-period goals while Jonathan Bernier finished with 37 saves and Detroit beat Carolina in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Sam Gagner added a clinching empty-net score late for the Red Wings, who continue to frustrate the Hurricanes. Carolina came in tied for the Central Division lead yet have lost four of seven against the division’s last-place team. Detroit also spoiled a milestone night for Carolina captain Jordan Staal, who was honored before the puck dropped for playing his 1,000th regular-season NHL game.


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