The narrative surrounding Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson is changing. Last season, even last offseason as the veteran was heading into his last year under contract at a bargain-bin $4.875 million cap hit, the general consensus was the Habs should trade the guy to maximize the return following a career-high 62-point season in 2023-24.
Now, following a fairly impressive 4-1 start to the season, during which Matheson has helped form the team’s arguable top defensive pairing with top-offseason-acquisition Noah Dobson, it’s more so a question of whether they re-sign him once his contract expires. The answer isn’t quite so simple though, despite insider Pierre LeBrun having reported extending Matheson is now a priority for the team.
Matheson in Line for Raise
On one hand, Matheson will in all likelihood be expecting a significant raise. Even though the cap is projected to increase rapidly over the next few seasons, general manager Kent Hughes hasn’t ingratiated himself as successfully as he has with the Canadiens fanbase by making risky signings. He’s more so made a point of locking up young members of the core through the prime years of their respective careers. Think along the lines of Cole Caufield, Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, etc.
So, re-upping a soon-to-be 32-year-old defenseman to a presumably long-term extension at a high cap hit, when he’ll probably rank third on your team’s defensive depth chart by the time the new deal comes into effect (if he doesn’t already) runs counter to just about everything we’ve seen from Hughes up to now. In fact, it’s a similar situation to when the Canadiens opted to let Sean Monahan hit free agency to sign a five-year, $27.5 million deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets two summers ago.
In the here and now, Monahan, coming off a point-per-game season in 2024-25, probably represents the one ingredient missing in the lineup as a second-line centre who can produce consistently. However, despite his production, it’s hard to file him under the “reliable” category as a result of his injury history, with him having been limited to 54 games last season. Ironically, the only time Monahan played a full season this decade was 2023-24, when the Habs traded the pending unrestricted free agent to the Winnipeg Jets (and through some scheduling fluke he actually played 83 games).
Ultimately, Hughes’ decision to trade Monahan for (another) first-round pick before the deadline was near-universally applauded. The difference is, when the Canadiens let Monahan walk, they didn’t have designs on making the postseason. After sneaking in as a wild-card team in 2024-25, it’s safe to say the Habs are looking to do even better this season. And, with the Habs currently in a tie for the Atlantic Division lead, albeit just five games in, it sounds near-nonsensical to so much as consider flipping the smooth-skating defenseman who, at least currently, leads them in ice time.
Matheson’s Hypothetical Contract vs. Gallagher’s
That’s this season, though. If nothing else, Matheson has proven himself to be an asset to the team, emphasis on the word, “asset.” They may not want to trade him in 2025-26, but the situation may change in subsequent seasons, should they re-sign him. It becomes a question of, if Hughes goes that route, whether the deal will work for both sides. Keep in mind, Brendan Gallagher continues to pour his heart and soul into every shift by all appearances. However, his six-year, $39 million deal, signed under similar circumstances, is still widely considered an albatross on the team and arguably represents the Habs’ worst right now.
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If you consider Gallagher a worst-case scenario though, it’s still a decent situation overall, as he still contributes at Age 33. Meanwhile, some may point to mobile-defenseman Jeff Petry’s last contract with the Canadiens as even more relevant here and a potential cautionary tale after it earned him $25 million over four years starting in 2021. However, even though Petry got traded one season into that deal, following a disappointing 2021-22 during which he failed to live up to expectations and the team finished in last place overall, he still got traded one season into that deal… to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Matheson.
It goes to show good general management has the propensity to trump all, with the Canadiens obviously coming out ahead after the Petry trade. So, re-signing Matheson? Hughes can make it work one way or another. However, a no-movement clause should be a non-starter, and, while Matheson probably wants to stay in Montreal as a native son, he’s holding all the cards, especially if he continues to play as well as he has to start this season. So, the status quo being what it is, suggestions/reports that the Habs should want to re-sign him make sense. The eventual deal, if there ends up being one at all, just has to as well.
