Canadiens Exec Speaks Out On Trade Candidate Mike Matheson

The Montreal Canadiens aren't in any rush to trade veteran defenseman Mike Matheson

Mike Matheson has had his name floated in trade rumors for a while now, dating back to before the trade deadline this past season. The 31-year-old workhorse has averaged over 25 minutes of ice time per game for the Montreal Canadiens over each of the last two seasons, and is entering the final year of his eight-year, $39 million deal with a $4.88M cap hit.

With no extension on the horizon, he would appear to be an ideal trade candidate, but Canadiens Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Jeff Gorton doesn't seem to have any intention of moving their top-four d-man. In speaking with James Murphy of rg.org, Gorton said Matheson simply brings too much to the table to let him go.

If you look at Mike’s body of work since he came to Montreal, he’s been a really good player. So, sure, he takes criticism once in a while, but he might play upwards of 25 minutes a game sometimes, right? He’s been huge right now, and we all realize that. So, there are no decisions made on Mike right now. Obviously, he’s got a year left on his contract, but he’s been a very, very, solid player for us. He’s a very good penalty killer, he plays against the best players every night, and there’s not much he doesn’t do.
Mike’s such a solid guy and a leader, and he’s been really big for us. We’re well aware of that, and we’ll see what the next step is in Montreal for him.

Matheson stepped up with a career-year offensively in 2023-24, exploding for 51 assists and 62 points, essentially doubling his career bests in those categories. He did take a step back on the offensive end this past season as rookie sensation Lane Hutson took over the first power play quarterbacking duties.

But obviously, Matheson's importance to the strong Habs defense—which added another young star this summer in Noah Dobson—is still key.

Murphy speculates that Matheson could even be lined up with Dobson on the top-pairing this season.

At the same time, Montreal is still trying to figure out a way to land another top-six producer on the offensive end, preferably a second-line center. And that's where Matheson's name comes up as trade bait.

Gorton suggests that they're happy to go with internal solutions down the middle for now.

"We have centers in our organization, and we’re comfortable with that going into camp."