Anthony Mantha is set for another new team just a few months after the Washington Capitals dealt him to the Vegas Golden Knights at the trade deadline.

Per Mantha, the Golden Knights told him they will not retain his services after a 21-game stint with the club. The 29-year-old winger will become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career this summer.

“Vegas made it clear that they were not going to put me back under contract,” Mantha told RDS’ Catherine Savoie as translated via Google Translate. “I’m excited, but at the same time I’m stressed as everything comes into play. We’ll see, whether it’s July 1st or a little later. Hoping we will have good news.”

After a rough 2022-23 season with the Capitals under head coach Peter Laviolette, Mantha bounced back to score 20 goals in a season for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign when he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings. Washington used that newfound scoring confidence to net two draft picks from the Golden Knights in early March.

Mantha would chip in 10 points (3g, 7a) in 18 regular season games for Vegas, but then went scoreless in three postseason games. He was healthy scratched by Golden Knights bench boss Bruce Cassidy for the last four games of their first-round series against the Dallas Stars.

The lack of playoff production and Vegas’ serious salary cap issues likely combined to make Mantha superfluous to their roster needs. The Golden Knights already have 20 players under contract for next year and just $6.1 million in cap space with most of that coming via goaltender Robin Lehner’s eventual LTIR status.

Per RDS, Mantha is returning to the DC area this upcoming weekend. After spending a few weeks in his home province of Quebec, the former Capitals winger plans to do his offseason training back in his former home for the last four seasons.

Mantha’s wife, Caitlyn, is also due to soon give birth to the couple’s second child. The couple announced an August due date back in late January.