Chris Ilitch reportedly cost the Red Wings another goal scorer after also losing on Steven Stamkos

Detroit Red Wings fans just got confirmation of something that will make their blood boil.

According to Detroit Free Press insider Carlos Monarrez, assistant GM Shawn Horcoff had a deal in place with Anthony Mantha this offseason.

The contract reportedly fell apart while owner Chris Ilitch sat on it and deliberated.

By the time Detroit made a decision, Mantha was gone, signing with the New Jersey Devils on a reasonable one year, $5 million deal.

That's brutal enough on its own.

But this isn't the first time it's happened.

Back in 2024, the same exact situation played out with Steven Stamkos.

Detroit was reportedly in position to land the former Lightning captain, only for Ilitch to hesitate on approving the offer.

Stamkos ended up in Nashville instead, and he's been productive there ever since.

Now it's happened again, this time with a player coming off a career year, 33 goals in Pittsburgh last season.

Mantha would have slotted perfectly into a Red Wings lineup that lost Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk to free agency this summer, a duo that combined for 88 points a season ago.

Detroit has more cap space than almost any team in the league right now, reportedly sitting north of $19 million.

Money was never the excuse. This is starting to look like an ownership problem more than anything the front office is doing wrong, and it's coming at the worst possible time, with captain Dylan Larkin reportedly unhappy and the GM chair still empty.

Two missed signings in two years is not a coincidence anymore.

It's a pattern, and Red Wings fans are right to be furious about it.

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