It’s not always easy being a veteran on a rebuilding team. As the team grows and the prospects become full-time players, your role evolves, changes, and sometimes diminishes. That’s what Mike Matheson underwent with the Montreal Canadiens last season. He lost his spot on the first power play unit, was still counted on to be a minute muncher, and had more defensive responsibilities.
As a result, his offensive production shrank by half, and his defensive shortcomings were exposed more often than he would have liked. He finished the year with 31 points (down from 62 in 2023-24), only 10 of which came on the power play, down from 28 the year before.
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When GM Kent Hughes acquired Noah Dobson at the draft, most wrongly believed that Matheson would be demoted to the second pairing and that he would lose his spot on the second power play unit. He did indeed lose his spot on the second power play unit, but he remained on the first pairing with Dobson, a pairing that has been very successful so far this season. It turns out that Martin St-Louis was right when he said that if his team defends as a unit of five as soon as they lose possession of the puck, rather than waiting until they enter the defensive zone, the pairing's puck-moving skills would allow them to dominate.
He might have lost his spot on the man-advantage, but the team heavily relies on him on the penalty kill, and his work down a man has been impressive, particularly against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. The Hawks might only have had four power plays, but on one of them, Matheson’s stick exploded and the blueliner had to make do without it for what seemed like an eternity. Usually, when a player loses his stick on a five-on-four, we see that it’s like facing three defenders and not four, but that wasn’t the case.
Not last night. Matheson looked like a man possessed. He applied body checks, blocked shots, and intercepted passes, without even getting a penalty. There was no holding; he did everything by the book and even managed to clear the zone himself with his hand.
Earlier this season, when speaking about Matheson, the coach expressed his satisfaction with his play and even his admiration, saying that “When Mike can just be Mike, he’s contagious.” Last night, it was easy to see what he meant.
While three games are a small sample, it looks like “Mike can just be Mike” this season, and it’s a role he thrives in. At 31 years old, the defenseman is playing the last year of his current contract, and soon, Hughes will have to decide what to do with Matheson. Sign him to an extension? Trade him? Do nothing and lose him to free agency like he did with Armia and Dvorak? That’s the least likely scenario in my opinion, as Matheson has got a lot of value on the open market.
Unless his salary demands are unreasonable, I could see Hughes electing to extend Matheson. He’s a great veteran, a soldier who does whatever is asked of him without complaining or challenging it, and a player whom St-Louis clearly likes. Of course, as young defensemen mature, his role will probably diminish further, but a young team needs experienced leaders. After next season, both Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson’s contracts will expire, potentially resulting in a significant loss of experienced leadership.
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