Mike Matheson gives Canadiens a great trade chip

The Montreal Canadiens came out of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft with a handful of prospects, but also with the biggest splash of the weekend, acquiring Noah Dobson for their two first-round picks and Emil Heineman. General manager (GM) Kent Hughes identified a glaring need, a right-handed defenceman, and filled it. Now there are other needs that must be attended to. 

Hughes has options; he can try to sign an unrestricted free agent (UFA) as of July 1, or he can take the trade route. In this case, he would need a valuable trade chip. Mike Matheson may be the most valuable, yet expendable, asset in the Canadiens’ arsenal.  

Canadiens needs 

Montreal needs help at centre – or, at least, additional scoring help. There is always the UFA market, but it isn’t brimming with top-end talent. With names like Mikael Granlund, Jack Roslovic and Lars Eller headlining this class of UFA centres, it is unlikely that, outside of signing Granlund, Hughes will find the top-six centre he is looking for. Even if there was interest on the Canadiens’ part, the lack of centres means that Granlund’s value on the open market will likely be more than what Hughes is willing to spend. 

If Evgeny Kuznetsov is willing to take a team-friendly, one-year deal, he might consider a return to the NHL after a brief stint in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for SKA St. Petersburg to play alongside Canadiens’ talented rookie Ivan Demidov. Yes, Kuznetsov has a checkered past, but he did not have the same issues in Russia.

In an interview with RG.org, his agent, Shumi Babaev, said:

“I don’t think the perception of Kuznetsov in the NHL has changed. He’s still viewed as a high-end talent with great potential.” Even with multiple interested teams, the Russian centre will almost certainly be signing a short, possibly even one-year, deal on a very affordable contract. However, past issues might make Hughes look elsewhere for additional offensive talent. 

There is interest in adding St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou, as reported by RG.org. And why not? The 27-year-old is coming off a 36-goal season, his third consecutive 30-plus goal campaign. While he is listed as a centre, he lines up on the wing. He is a gifted skater, capable of beating defenders with speed or with quick edge work to cut to the middle. He is also a talented playmaker with an excellent shot and is coming off a breakout season defensively.

He is entering his prime years and fits the age group of the Canadiens’ core players. But this would depend heavily on what direction the Blues decide to take with Kyrou and the remaining five years of his contract, with an $8.125 million AAV. But it would take a significant piece to get a deal done.

Matheson and the Canadiens 

Mike Matheson is a Montreal native, a veteran defenceman, who took on a top pairing role on a young and inexperienced Canadiens blue line. The 31-year-old left-handed shot is entering the final year of an eight-year contract that pays him an annual average of $4.875 million. Defensively, he was able to take on a penalty-killing role; he was second on the team in blocked shots, with only the now-retired David Savard blocking more shots on the team.

Yet, he became somewhat expendable with the addition of Dobson and the stellar play of the 2025 Calder Trophy winner as the NHL’s top rookie, Lane Hutson. A look at a future Canadiens top four shows that Matheson’s time in Montreal will be coming to an end as Hutson, Dobson, Kaiden Guhle, and, eventually, David Reinbacher develop into a Stanley Cup-contending blue line. That’s even without adding names like Logan Mailloux, Arber Xhekaj and Jayden Struble, who all bring something to a roster.