Not only did Matheson exceed the organization's expectations, but he also became the cornerstone of the Canadiens' defense. He racked up 34 points in 48 games in the 2022-2023 season. If we extrapolate that over an 82-game season, we're talking about a 58-point season!
However, the journalist's explanations are contingent upon the organization's young defenders having gained enough experience by then. It's worth noting that Kaiden Guhle, Jordan Harris, Justin Barron, and Arber Xhekaj will be in their third NHL season, and they will surely have moved up within the organization.
There's also the fact that Matheson won't be in his final contract year at that time. Somewhat reminiscent of Artturi Lehkonen at the 2022 trade deadline, Kent Hughes might be in a position to get what he wants in the market because he'll have the upper hand in this matter, given that Matheson will still have another year on his Canadiens' contract worth $4.875 million.
That being said, we're talking about a situation that might only arise in a year and a half. Until then, Canadiens fans can appreciate the solid contribution of the player who made us forget about Jeff Petry rather quickly.
We rarely comment on these analyses, but personally, we would definitely keep Mike Matheson for several more seasons.
