Mike Matheson is Hoping To Stay

On Monday, Matheson said he wanted to stay with the Habs as long as possible to help them achieve their goals in the future. Unfortunately for him, his current role as a top 4 left-handed defenseman will be taken over by Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson. Therefore, if Matheson really wants to stay with the Canadiens, he must accept a lesser role and a pay cut to do so. It wouldn’t be wise to spend $5 million on a guy who would be on the 3rd pairing, even with the cap going up in the next few years. If Matheson truly wants to stay healthy will likely be willing to sign a contract around $3-3.5 million per season at the very most, based on the role that he would be playing. Even as a 3rd pairing defenseman, Matheson should be among the higher-paid in that role because he can play tough minutes as a veteran presence, and he regularly kills penalties. 

Matheson often gets a lot of flak for his turnovers, but it seems that if he can be used in a smaller role at 5-on-5 and less relied upon to bring the puck up ice, he may be able to prove that he really isn’t as bad defensively as some of his critics have mentioned. The truth i,s Matheson has had a lot of success killing penalties over the last few seasons with David Savard on the top PK unit. This is why there could be a fit with him if he is willing to take less money and a lesser role.

At 5-on-5, Matheson could still be a puck mover in a lesser role if he plays with a more defensive-minded player like Alexandre Carrier as his partner. Playing 15-17 minutes a night will allow Matheson to not be overused, and we can see the best version of him by not seeing him be overplayed.

Keeping Matheson would mean that the Canadiens would likely need to move on from prospect Adam Engstrom, as they both seem to be elite skaters who can be risky with the puck. It seems like Engstrom, if he develops properly, will play a very similar game that relies on his skating, much like Matheson does. The only advantage that Matheson has over Engstrom for the next few years is the NHL experience, which could make him more valuable in the near future than Engstrom. 

However, at the same time, the fact that Matheson’s best asset is his skating could be a red flag for what he will be in 4 years from now, when he’s 35 years old, as skating tends to age less gracefully than anything else in a player. 

This is why the Canadiens need to be careful with how they approach Matheson’s contract talks, as his spot in the lineup could be taking the role away from a younger replacement that could fit the team’s average age better than him.

If Matheson agrees to extend for another 2 years at about $3.5 million per season, then the deal could still be valuable for the Habs. However, anything more or longer wouldn’t be the best decision for a young team on the rise like the Canadiens.

Would you consider bringing Matheson back if he takes a pay cut?