Canadiens Should Hang on to Matheson

How could the Canadiens keep Matheson while not hindering their youngsters' development? Hopefully, Kent Hughes has a plan.

One of the biggest task Kent Hughes had to get done when he became the Montreal Canadiens' general manager was to trade defenseman Jeff Petry. The blueliner had been in Montreal since the trade deadline of the 2014-2015, but the Covid hit the Petry household hard. The travel restrictions meant they couldn't go home in the USA and their parents couldn't come over to lend wife Julie a hand. When the restrictions were lifted, she moved back home with the boys south of the border, leaving the player alone in Montreal.

As a result, his play nosedived and he eventually asked to be traded. While Hughes wanted to fulfill his request, he would only do it if the trade made sense for the Canadiens as well. With the whole league knowing Petry wanted out, the GM was not in a position of strength to trade him. Yet, somehow, he managed to get Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth round pick for Petry and Ryan Poehling.

When Matheson was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins, he had never gotten more than 31 points in a season. That year, his last in Pennsylvania, he needed 74 games to reach that total.

In his first season in Montreal, he got 34 points but he did it while only playing 48 games for 0.71 points per game. Up from 0.42 P/G the previous season. It was already obvious that playing in his hometown suited him fine and that he fitted very well with coach Martin St. Louis' concepts.

Then, last season, he stayed healthy, played all 82 games and was part of the first power play unit which meant his production improved to 62 points. 11 goals and 51 assists, that's a lot of offense. 

Sure, he does have the occasional defensive lapse, but that's nothing compared to how much he helps the team offensively. 

Yes, there are too many defenseman with the team, there's no two ways about it. However, considering Hughes and Jeff Gorton want their team to compete this season and stay in the mix for longer, they cannot afford to trade Matheson. Not yet in any case.

Often, those who advocate trading Matheson are being overly optimistic about Lane Hutson's development. I'm not shutting the door on the freshman making the team this season, but if he does, he doesn't need the added pressure of being the team's offensive dynamo from the blue line. If he ends up being it, fine but you cannot put him in a situation where he must be. That would be completely unfair. 

Furthermore, Matheson's contract is good until the end of the 2025-2026 season and should the Canadiens not be heading for the playoffs then, he would be quite the pick up as a rental player for a contending team. 

Granted, Matheson is probably the blueliner who would fetch the best return on the market, but if the Canadiens are trading him to make more room on the blue line, they won't want an NHL defenseman in return. Perhaps they could want a player to bolster up their top-six but I doubt he would bring that kind of return on his own and adding picks wouldn't really make sense. Why would they send a great blue liner and add picks to "get rid" of a great defenseman?

Personally, I'd rather trade David Savard or one of the young defender who has shown to be a good all-around defenseman but who isn't great at anything in Jordan Harris. It would be a shame because I genuinely love his personality, his eloquence and his play. 

The truth of the matter is though, you cannot trade what people won't want. Right now, even thought he's a right-shot defenseman I don't think there's a good deal to be made for Justin Barron. He's yet to really earn a regular spot with the Canadiens and that makes him less attractive. Furthermore, he's a restricted free agent and he's sure to be paid more than a defenseman on his entry-level-deal. 

Hopefully, Hughes finds a way to finish what he's started by sending Jonathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils. There are plenty of days left to yet another insanely long off season, plenty of time for the GM to look at the puzzle he's put together so far and figure out which pieces don't really fit for whatever reason. After all, we're talking about a man who has managed to trade Petry two off seasons in a row.