The Canadiens started Mantha as a forward, then moved him to defence as part of a youth movement, because veteran Montreal defencemen Sprague Cleghorn and Billy Coutu were aging.

[6] With the further trade of Coutu to Boston in the 1927 offseason, he was named captain of the team, and paired with Herb Gardiner -- acquired with the breakup of the Western Hockey League from the Calgary Tigers -- to become the new starting defencemen for the Canadiens.

[7] Mantha was injured in the playoffs that year, but recovered to score Montreal's only goal on an end-to-end rush in the deciding (and losing) game to the Ottawa Senators.

[15] In a game against the New York Rangers on January 28, 1937, Boston superstar Eddie Shore sustained a back injury that proved to be season ending.

Spurred on by cracking a bone in his elbow, Mantha admitted he could no longer play at a competitive level, and retired.

However, he found the continual travel required of an on-ice official grueling, and transitioned to coaching for Montreal-area junior league teams.