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Top-10 Offensive Defenseman in the League Reportedly Placed on the Trade Block

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Aaron Itovitch
December 26, 2024  (9:10)
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Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson
Photo credit: NHL

Mike Matheson emerged as one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHl last season, racking up 62 points, and finishing in the top-10 in defensive league scoring.

Following a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Montreal Canadiens, where former first-round pick Ryan Poehling, as well as veteran Jeff Petry were moved to Pittsburgh for Matheson and a fourth, Matheson has exceeded expectations.

The icing on that cake is that the fourth round pick turned into Bogdan Konyushkov, one of the best defensive prospects in the NHL!

However, the emergence of star young defenseman Lane Hutson, who is by far the better option on the power play, and is already among the best offensive defensemen in the NHL (he trails only Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar in points among defensemen in December), has made Matheson movable.

Per Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun, along with veteran David Savard, Mike Matheson may be a player on the move ahead of the trade deadline:

"Kent Hughes, the general manager there, has made no secret of the fact that he is open for business," Dreger said on Early Trading. "Now, he's not selling off good young assets, even though Justin Barron, a talented young defenceman was part of the deal going to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Carrier, but the reason behind that is twofold.

"No. 1, we know what that Montreal Canadiens blueline should look like in the not too distant future. So you're going to see the likes of David Reinbacher, you're going to see Logan Mailloux occupying a full-time position on that Montreal blueline. Alright, so they create a little bit more room there, but they also bring in the experience of Alexandre Carrier and that could help them kind of make their way to the future.

"But in the meantime, if someone were to make an offer on say veteran defenceman like Savard or (Mike) Matheson, then this gives backfill to Kent Hughes to consider that between now and March 7th. So Kent Hughes is in a pretty good spot in terms of trying to bolster what he already has."

Having brought in a new face in Alexandre Carrier, and having moved out a more offensively minded option in Justin Barron, Matheson's veteran presence is less necessary as well.

The Montreal native has certainly won over the hearts of Canadiens fans, with his earnest bilingual press conferences and high-end play, but hockey is a business, and it seems that Matheson will not be a Hab for life.


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Top-10 Offensive Defenseman in the League Reportedly Placed on the Trade Block

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