Mantha talks rehab from surgery, Deadline trade in Q&A with NHL.com

NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Sitting Down with…" runs each Sunday. We talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice.
This edition features Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha.

VANCOUVER --
Anthony Mantha
is happy to be back playing with the Washington Capitals after the forward missed nearly four months while recovering from surgery on his left shoulder.
Mantha was injured when he tried to hit Florida Panthers forward Anthony Duclair on Nov. 4 and had surgery the following day. A long rehab followed before he returned against the Carolina Huricanes on March 3.
"My longest [injury] before that was nine weeks, so four months, obviously took some time," Mantha said. "But the rehab went well and, at first, they told me 4-6 [months], so I'm pretty excited it was the four months."
Mantha has played five straight games since returning, scoring two points (one goal, one assist) to increase his season total to eight points (three goals, five assists) in 15 games. The 27-year-old is getting more into a rhythm and said he hopes to be back at the top of his game by the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"After four months, it's just trying to learn the speed of the game again and trying to get all the easy plays to be made," Mantha said.
NHL.com caught up with Mantha, a native of Longueuil, Quebec, during Washington's three-game road trip this week and talked with him about his recovery, what it's like to change teams at the NHL Trade Deadline, his excitement about his sister Elizabeth's development as an on-ice official and more.
What happened on the play when you were injured?
"I think it was that play in the corner where I tried to hit Duclair and he kind of spun off. I didn't even rewatch it. I think our skates kind of collided a little bit and I just put out my arm to hold myself up against the boards and it must have just been at the wrong angle or something."
What was the hardest part of your recovery?
"The first couple of weeks, I would say. You're kind of in a bubble where you come out of surgery, you're hurting and you don't know when you're going to play hockey again. Once the inflammation goes down and you start moving, at least you have a plan that you need to hit every checkmark towards recovery and it just flies by after that."
The 2022 NHL Trade Deadline is coming up March 21. You were traded to the Capitals by the Detroit Red Wings on the day of the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline (April 12, 2021) What was the experience like?
"For me, obviously, I wasn't expecting it. I had just signed a new deal with Detroit (a four-year contract on Nov. 3, 2020), so when I got that call, we were in Carolina and I got that call from [Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman] telling me I was traded here, it was kind of a shock at first. But at soon as I called the coach (Peter Laviolette) and everything, they were telling me I was playing the next night. So it was a quick turnover.
"I hopped in a car, grabbed all my luggage that I had at that time on the road and grabbed my hockey bag and drove down to D.C. and straight to the hotel. The next morning, I meet all the boys, I meet all the coaching staff and it just went really well. The adaptation period was a couple days and I think it felt like home."
What's something players deal with when they're traded that people might not think about?
"We were traveling with track suits with Detroit, so we were going to games in track suits. So when I got traded I had zero shirts, zero ties and I was playing the next day. So luckily my fiancée packed a bag and overnighted it to me and it got there in the morning. She actually drove from Detroit to D.C. the next day and brought a couple things to the hotel, stayed a couple days and then she flew back to Detroit, grabbed our puppy and came back."
So she deserves credit for a big assist?
"Exactly. It's mostly her. You're turning around and you just need your hockey bag and a suit and you're all set, basically. So props to her for that."
What's it been like for you watching your older sister Elizabeth advancing in her development as one of the first women to be an official in the American Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and officiating women's hockey at the 2022 Beijing Olympics?
"It was awesome. When she was in Beijing, I think I was texting her every day just to get news. Obviously, there was a big time difference, I think it was 13 hours ahead. She had an amazing time and hitting all the milestones that she is right now, even last night she texted me after a (QMJHL) game, it's so awesome. My family gets to support her around home, and I get to support her from here. It's awesome to watch."
Elizabeth was a very good player too, playing professionally in the Canadian Women's Hockey League before going into officiating. When you were younger, which of the two of you would your parents have said was better suited to become an official?
"We were hoping it wasn't going to be me."
What would it be like if she made it to the NHL?
"Oh gosh. That would be awesome, obviously. It kind of became a dream when she did a couple NHL combines and every other sport is kind of getting women into [officiating]. Obviously, hockey is a little different with the fighting that could happen, but who knows? Maybe one day she'll be good enough and she'll be here. I don't think she would referee my games. I don't think she would be allowed, but I don't know about that."
Your grandfather, Andre Pronovost, won the Stanley Cup in four consecutive seasons as a forward with the Montreal Canadiens (1957-1960). How much was he and that history a part of you and your sister's childhood?
"For the whole family it was huge. Obviously, a lot of experiences, a lot of good stories from back in the days. He played with Jean Beliveau, Maurice Richard. Those two names are the two biggest French-Canadian names and it was awesome. He was often around the rinks when we were young. He followed my junior career (with Val d'Or in the QMJHL). He came down to Val d'Or multiple times, Montreal, Quebec City. So it was fun. Really fun."
Was there another sport you played when you were younger?
"I played tennis until I was about 13. Then, I kind of had to make a decision between the two, hockey or tennis, because both sides wanted me to play kind of all year-round and for me, I just enjoyed hockey more. So I pursued that and started golf when I stopped playing tennis."
Could you have played tennis professionally?
"At that age, I don't know. But I had multiple tournaments and things like that."