Player Discussion Mike Matheson

[Shutdown]

We missed an opportunity last season
Ship him now Guhle and Hutson can play offensively and he sucks defensively and he's not physical.

We got him for Petry so who cares if we don't get the moon

missed an opportunity to overload rookie and sophomore defensemen by playing too many minutes?

Matheson is fine and even now insulates our team. he's not perfect, but unless there's a name on the market out there that can fill the role he's playing this year, let alone during last year's crucial developmental year for our young D, it wasn't and still isn't a mistake to keep him.

shipping him out at this deadline without getting a roster player back that can be as impactful as him also tells your team that you think what they're currently accomplishing isn't worth rewarding.

not singling you out with this reply - just voicing my opinion on the situation.

 

[Benstheman]

Just looked at some numbers between Dobson and Matheson (giveaways, takeaways, hits, blocks, points, corsi, and zone starts). These two are neck/neck in terms of those numbers. Are we overlooking Matheson? I think there is a fair chance Gorton/Hughes might agree and they have plans of extending him if he is open to a team friendly deal.

If Matheson and Hutson continue to perform (especially against the top 10 teams), why should we not consider keeping Matheson? Age 31 season next year and sign him for 3 years (32-34). Those will be decent years and Matheson will be very mature and experienced. This thought that he can't improve defensively as a vet is nonsense. It's happening right in front of our eyes

I might go back/forth on this but I am not 100% sold on unloading Matheson. I like having Hutson on one PP and Matheson on the other. Lets not overlook Matheson's improvement on D and his rare puck moving ability. When you don't have puck moving, you will miss it!

I can understand the sentiment right now. But we need to understand that the current streak won't last for the rest of the season. They probably won't be as bad as they were for the first 25 games but they can't sustain what they are doing right now.

Matheson has a great tools I won't lie. But he also has great flaws. He is also 31 years old. I mean I'm not totally against extending him but I doubt he accepts a 3 years contract at friendly salary.

I mean he is not then optimal solution for us going forward but if there are no other options, you know, it might be ok to keep him on a second pair for couple more years.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I can understand the sentiment right now. But we need to understand that the current streak won't last for the rest of the season. They probably won't be as bad as they were for the first 25 games but they can't sustain what they are doing right now.

Matheson has a great tools I won't lie. But he also has great flaws. He is also 31 years old. I mean I'm not totally against extending him but I doubt he accepts a 3 years contract at friendly salary.

I mean he is not then optimal solution for us going forward but if there are no other options, you know, it might be ok to keep him on a second pair for couple more years.

All I will say is I trust Gorton/Hughes. I think they would have more information to make the better decision. I just won't be surprise if they extend him this offseason

 

[Habs Halifax]

missed an opportunity to overload rookie and sophomore defensemen by playing too many minutes?

Matheson is fine and even now insulates our team. he's not perfect, but unless there's a name on the market out there that can fill the role he's playing this year, let alone during last year's crucial developmental year for our young D, it wasn't and still isn't a mistake to keep him.

shipping him out at this deadline without getting a roster player back that can be as impactful as him also tells your team that you think what they're currently accomplishing isn't worth rewarding.

not singling you out with this reply - just voicing my opinion on the situation.

The other layer to this is MSL and the boys trying to win games. I know MSL was deflated when we traded Monahan last year but obviously he understood. At some point, we will not be sellers but maybe we should be selling the deadweight instead. Matheson is not deadweight.

What does a late 1st and B+ prospect do for us at this stage of our rebuild? It's basically assets we can use in 5 years or more. 2 years of development, turns pro with 3 more years of maturing. It's been almost 3 full seasons since we drafted Mesar and Heineman took a while to get where he is today (Toffoli trade example)

 

[Benstheman]

All I will say is I trust Gorton/Hughes. I think they would have more information to make the better decision. I just won't be surprise if they extend him this offseason

yeah I trust them. And I'm pretty sure they won't extend him this summer. They can't tie their hands with him like this.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Explore it in the off-season.

There isn't gonna be a solution in season unless Flames are selling Andersson.

But if we can trade for Andersson in the off season and then flip Matheson to recoup some of those assets, it'd be a masterclass.

 

[Habs Halifax]

yeah I trust them. And I'm pretty sure they won't extend him this summer. They can't tie their hands with him like this.

What if they move Dach, Mailloux, and futures for a 2C? Then you wonder about our RD side and should Matheson be retained to fill one of those spots?

Really sucks Reinbacher got injured. Huge development year gone in thin air and we need to wait another year to see his game at the pro level now.

Any RD we draft at this stage is a 5+ year or more solution. I prefer we don't waste Prime years from Suzuki and his value contract.

 

[Benstheman]

Explore it in the off-season.

There isn't gonna be a solution in season unless Flames are selling Andersson.

But if we can trade for Andersson in the off season and then flip Matheson to recoup some of those assets, it'd be a masterclass.

Yep. And if in facts Andersson don't want to resign in Calgary and they in fact trade him own the off-season, maybe they will try to get a stop gap in the trade and Matheson would be a great one for them.

 

[Benstheman]

What if they move Dach, Mailloux, and futures for a 2C? Then you wonder about our RD side and should Matheson be retained to fill one of those spots?

Really sucks Reinbacher got injured. Huge development year gone in thin air and we need to wait another year to see his game at the pro level now.

Any RD we draft at this stage is a 5+ year or more solution. I prefer we don't waste Prime years from Suzuki and his value contract.

I don"t think Mailloux and any RHD we draft this summer is part of the Matheson's equation at all.

Reinbacher is to a certain extent but Reinbacher is 90% sure thing to become at least a 2nd pair RHD. Next year he probably starts in Laval and comes back to the big club after 15-20 games.

But nothing of all that has anything to do with the fact that they should extend him this summer or not.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Matheson isn't being traded unless the habs are clearly out of a playoff spot next season.

If he's willing to sign a short term contract, like 3 years, then he could be re-signed, but a lot of it could depend on how Reinbacher/Mailloux ends up looking, and how close they are to being a top 4 D in the nhl.

 

[BaseballCoach]

Time to trade him while he's doing good.

I want a rock defensively to play with Hutson. Might be Reinbacher but in 2-3 years only.

The best would be a guy that can play 20 minutes at ES and contribute on the PK. A rock defensively and physical.

No need to choose. The team should aim to have two good offensive Ds and two rock-solid defensive Ds in their top-4.

 

[Redux91]

No.
He must be traded for a good to great RD.
Imminently.
We must not be fooled by this situation.
He still has to go

 

[Goalfield13]

No.
He must be traded for a good to great RD.
Imminently.
We must not be fooled by this situation.
He still has to go

We can trade him if we can fill his spot on RD, for sure. He stays where he is until then. I don't know if he can get that done in a trade himself, but you have the right idea. At least we know he is decent enough for now.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

No.
He must be traded for a good to great RD.
Imminently.
We must not be fooled by this situation.
He still has to go

It depends if he can sustain this play for a proper amount of time.

Maybe he was just destined to play the right side lol.

 

[salbutera]

There’s no way HuGo deal Matheson IF Habs remain in the hunt for a wildcard spot ….. zero chance - they won’t f*ck around disrupting team chemistry

 

[Sorinth]

Just looked at some numbers between Dobson and Matheson (giveaways, takeaways, hits, blocks, points, corsi, and zone starts). These two are neck/neck in terms of those numbers. Are we overlooking Matheson? I think there is a fair chance Gorton/Hughes might agree and they have plans of extending him if he is open to a team friendly deal.

If Matheson and Hutson continue to perform (especially against the top 10 teams), why should we not consider keeping Matheson? Age 31 season next year and sign him for 3 years (32-34). Those will be decent years and Matheson will be very mature and experienced. This thought that he can't improve defensively as a vet is nonsense. It's happening right in front of our eyes

I might go back/forth on this but I am not 100% sold on unloading Matheson. I like having Hutson on one PP and Matheson on the other. Lets not overlook Matheson's improvement on D and his rare puck moving ability. When you don't have puck moving, you will miss it!

I don't think extending Matheson is a crazy idea, but it's also going to take more then what 10-20 games of excellent play from him before we make that kind of decision. Matheson has really found a great niche on the right side of Hutson, but Matheson's issues over the years have always been consistency so it's an idea that we can circle back to this offseason.

What is worth noting is that it kind of highlights how wrong the common sense opinion of you need to pair guys like Matheson/Hutson with big defensively responsible players to cover for them. Matheson has clearly benefited from having an offensively gifted partner, and I think Hutson has as well. And it makes a degree of sense, when you get into trouble and have to throw the puck to your partner, a guy like Hutson is likely to take it and make a clean exit, whereas the classic stay at home guy probably just dumps it out off the glass but the opposing team will gain possession so in a few seconds you are right back to defending. On top of which there's more expectation/pressure for you to take risks when the team is counting on you for driving the puck forward. By having a PMD partner takes that pressure off, you are likely to make the safer plays of getting them the puck because you believe they'll be able to transition the puck and so you don't have to it yourself by making a risky play.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I don't think extending Matheson is a crazy idea, but it's also going to take more then what 10-20 games of excellent play from him before we make that kind of decision. Matheson has really found a great niche on the right side of Hutson, but Matheson's issues over the years have always been consistency so it's an idea that we can circle back to this offseason.

What is worth noting is that it kind of highlights how wrong the common sense opinion of you need to pair guys like Matheson/Hutson with big defensively responsible players to cover for them. Matheson has clearly benefited from having an offensively gifted partner, and I think Hutson has as well. And it makes a degree of sense, when you get into trouble and have to throw the puck to your partner, a guy like Hutson is likely to take it and make a clean exit, whereas the classic stay at home guy probably just dumps it out off the glass but the opposing team will gain possession so in a few seconds you are right back to defending. On top of which there's more expectation/pressure for you to take risks when the team is counting on you for driving the puck forward. By having a PMD partner takes that pressure off, you are likely to make the safer plays of getting them the puck because you believe they'll be able to transition the puck and so you don't have to it yourself by making a risky play.

Call me crazy or gullible, but some guys like Matheson (late bloomers) have very good matured seasons from 30-34 range. I'm open to trading him but not desperate. He's a guy with size, skates very well, and has a good shot. Can play both sides. He's not complacent like Drouin and working very hard to improve his overall game. I know I can clearly see it.

Aside from Reinbacher, Matheson is our next best shot at a RD when you look around the league and the available options on the right side. Go compare Matheson's defensive ability to Dobson for example. There is not much difference from what I can see.

 

[26Mats]

There’s no way HuGo deal Matheson IF Habs remain in the hunt for a wildcard spot ….. zero chance - they won’t f*ck around disrupting team chemistry

It would have to be if the right offer, either with one team or a three team deal, came to him on a silver platter to swap Matheson for an equivalent RD. But the chances of that seem slim.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

There’s no way HuGo deal Matheson IF Habs remain in the hunt for a wildcard spot ….. zero chance - they won’t f*ck around disrupting team chemistry

Unless the deal is too good to refuse, Hughes is not trading a highly mobile player, who plays 28 minutes some games, is a team leader and is being paid under $5 million per year. It's not happening. And it's certainly not happening when the team is in its ascendency.

People also underestimate the Montreal factor. A lot a players won't play in Montreal. Matheson is a local boy, who has shown he wants to play here and can manage the never ending scrutiny.

I would be shocked if Matheson is traded before his current contract expires at the end of next year. This is a business and one doesn't succeed in hockey or any other business enterprise by trading away the business' low cost, key performing assets.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Unless the deal is too good to refuse, Hughes is not trading a highly mobile player, who plays 28 minutes some games, is a team leader and is being paid under $5 million per year. It's not happening. And it's certainly not happening when the team is in its ascendency.

People also underestimate the Montreal factor. A lot a players won't play in Montreal. Matheson is a local boy, who has shown he wants to play here and can manage the never ending scrutiny.

I would be shocked if Matheson is traded before his current contract expires at the end of next year. This is a business and one doesn't succeed in hockey or any other business enterprise by trading away the business' low cost, key performing assets.

Totally agree. We have loved the futures we have added in trades over the last few seasons and it really did help us build something special but D is hard to acquire and Matheson can play both sides. His defensive flaws are overblown.

When you look at the available RD and then consider that Matheson can play both sides, why are we moving him? For a late 1st and a B+ prospect (Toffoli return) ? All this does is help our depth for 5-8 years down the road. Yes, sometimes you can hit with a late 1st but it's low probability. The idea that we can get a grade A prospect or a mid round 1st was always a reach.

Ideally, Matheson is open to a 3 year extension to stay in Montreal. That is perfect timing to let Reinbacher develop and monitor how good Mailloux and BK are.

 

[Sorinth]

Unless the deal is too good to refuse, Hughes is not trading a highly mobile player, who plays 28 minutes some games, is a team leader and is being paid under $5 million per year. It's not happening. And it's certainly not happening when the team is in its ascendency.

People also underestimate the Montreal factor. A lot a players won't play in Montreal. Matheson is a local boy, who has shown he wants to play here and can manage the never ending scrutiny.

I would be shocked if Matheson is traded before his current contract expires at the end of next year. This is a business and one doesn't succeed in hockey or any other business enterprise by trading away the business' low cost, key performing assets.

Some people seem to be stuck with a belief that you can only have 1 good player for any given role. So in their minds there's no room for Matheson because Hutson already fills up our quota of 1 good PMD. When we got Laine the talk of trading Caufield intensified because we can only have 1 good goalscorer, Dobes hot start means Montembeault is now expendable, etc...

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Some people seem to be stuck with a belief that you can only have 1 good player for any given role. So in their minds there's no room for Matheson because Hutson already fills up our quota of 1 good PMD. When we got Laine the talk of trading Caufield intensified because we can only have 1 good goalscorer, Dobes hot start means Montembeault is now expendable, etc...

Yes, that mindset is a bit maddening.

 

[Captain Mountain]

There’s no way HuGo deal Matheson IF Habs remain in the hunt for a wildcard spot ….. zero chance - they won’t f*ck around disrupting team chemistry

I don't think it would make much difference whether Montreal's in the hunt or not. They're not going to trade Matheson (unless the return is fantastic) for the same reason they acquired him in the Petry deal, they acquired Carrier and they didn't trade Savard last season. They want/need veteran D and don't have any pressure to move him.

 

[Archijerej]

What is worth noting is that it kind of highlights how wrong the common sense opinion of you need to pair guys like Matheson/Hutson with big defensively responsible players to cover for them. Matheson has clearly benefited from having an offensively gifted partner, and I think Hutson has as well. And it makes a degree of sense, when you get into trouble and have to throw the puck to your partner, a guy like Hutson is likely to take it and make a clean exit, whereas the classic stay at home guy probably just dumps it out off the glass but the opposing team will gain possession so in a few seconds you are right back to defending. On top of which there's more expectation/pressure for you to take risks when the team is counting on you for driving the puck forward. By having a PMD partner takes that pressure off, you are likely to make the safer plays of getting them the puck because you believe they'll be able to transition the puck and so you don't have to it yourself by making a risky play.

This is something well understood by some coaches. I remember reading it in Scotty Bowman's book, for example.

Defensive pairings composed of two PMDs often work very well. We had some of those in Montreal in the past: Markov - Subban, Markov - Petry, Schneider - Desjardins...

 

[Canadienna]

Matheson's play of late is a big reason why the team has been winning games. He's made some great defensive plays without as many blunders.

I think having Hutson take a little bit of the offensive pressure off maybe allows him to play a more complete game - not that he'll ever be a defensive stalwart.

I've criticized him plenty but I feel like this has been his best stretch of hockey as a Hab and he deserves some praise.