Over the past few days, the Montreal Canadiens social media circles have been buzzing. The team’s fans have had harsh words for one of the team’s veteran players. The criticism has been targeted at defenceman Mike Matheson. Matheson was on the ice during the play, leading to the New Jersey Devils eventual overtime winner on Saturday. Many fans felt the blame fell on his shoulders despite a poor pass from Patrik Laine being a part of the play. Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki and head coach Martin St. Louis came to Matheson’s defence, acknowledging the tough minutes he plays on the team.
However, Matheson said that the criticism came from people who weren’t true Canadiens fans. As one can imagine, this didn’t go over well with the Montreal faithful. Fans were quick to point out errors made by Matheson in the Canadiens 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He lost coverage of his man two separate occasions, directly resulting in his goals. So, is the criticism of Matheson justified, or have fans overreacted to the situation? Let’s analyze the criticism of Mike Matheson.
Montreal Canadiens Mike Matheson Analysis
Matheson’s Pros and Cons
Mike Matheson is a player who brings a lot of value to a team. His elite skating ability allows him to lead rushes and get back in the play defensively. We’ve seen him skate through defenders for highlight-reel goals and use his speed to break up plays regularly. He also has a decent set of hands.
Matheson is one of the best players the Canadiens have when it comes to the rush and playing in transition. The pitfalls for Matheson come once the play is set up in either the offensive or defensive zone. He often makes the wrong play when he is the point man on the powerplay. Also, he looks off pass options, makes risky blue-line passes leading to scoring chances against, and takes far too many low-percentage shots that don’t make it to the net. He often has lapses defensively on his end and loses his man in coverage. We saw two prime examples of this in the game against the Jets. He gets caught puck-watching and can often float out of position.
Matheson’s decision-making abilities prevent him from becoming an elite-level defenceman. He has the attributes necessary to do so, but hockey IQ isn’t easily taught, especially to an established player like Matheson.
The Lane Hutson Effect
Matheson had a career year last season for Montreal with 62 points. However, his production has fallen off dramatically this season. He currently has 22 points in 48 games. This can be attributed to one simple change to the Canadiens: the addition of Lane Hutson. Matheson no longer receives the powerplay time he did last season. In most odd-man offensive situations, Hutson is also used over Matheson and has cut his minutes a bit overall.
Hutson’s arrival has been a big part of why Matheson has received much negative attention from fans. They were frustrated to see him taking ice away from Hutson on the powerplay at the beginning of the season. The two have also been paired together defensively as of late. Hutson is having an outstanding rookie season offensively, with 39 points. However, he has received outside criticism for his defensive game. Many attribute his defensive lapses to being paired with Matheson, who isn’t the shutdown pairing Hutson needs. Canadiens fans adore Lane Hutson, and much of the criticism of Matheson stems not from their hatred of him but rather from their love of Hutson.
The Verdict for the Canadiens
General manager Kent Hughes has some decisions regarding Matheson, who quickly falls out of favor in Montreal. Matheson averages almost 25 minutes a night, which is not easily replaced. With the injury to Kaiden Guhle, Matheson will now be more relied upon. This makes it hard to trade him at this juncture. But moving on from Mike Matheson may be the Canadien’s best option beyond this season. With Hutson and Guhle on the left side, it would be in the team’s best interest to acquire a right-handed defenseman who can complement Hutson on the right side, as Matheson has struggled in his new role on the right side. His contract expires at the end of next season. Therefore, the offseason would be the best time to make a trade if they choose to do so.
At 30 years old, Matheson is still a valuable defenseman for many clubs. With the right partner, he could thrive in a role where he isn’t relied upon as much, as he has all the tools to be a point-producing defenseman. However, with the jury out on Matheson and the influx of young defensemen in Montreal, his days may be numbered with the Canadiens.
Main Photo: Rick Osentoski- Imagn Images
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