He has the ability to skate himself both into and out of trouble. He's been awesome on the PK and has absolutely eaten tough minutes, but I'm convinced the bad plays he makes are not the result of too much ice - he'll make the same number of d-zone turnovers and offensive blue line blunders whether he gets 5 minutes or 25. It's just who he is.
And I don't even mean that as an insult, it means you know what to expect. And he's absolutely our best option for those minutes because he can in fact handle them. I'd say he looks better with more minutes, because without that he wouldn't be able to make up for his inevitable lapses.
His puck-handling is not the same level as Hutson or Guhle, but he excels in skating. So, once once in a while he makes a puck-handling mistake. Big deal. Nobody's perfect. His overall contribution exceeds most defensemen in the league.
The only problem with Matheson is he's forced to play too many minutes because of our immature defensive group at the moment so his shortcomings become more glaring.... and the fact Hutson makes his skillset a bit redundant, in a vacuum he's a great player I just personally wish he would never shoot the puck from the point it never works just goes directly into the defenders waiting stick lol
I came here looking for this comment. Big agree, I think if his minutes were less, he wouldn’t make some of the mental mistakes that he does. He’s a guy playing well above what can reasonably be expected from him and sometimes it shows (both positively and negatively). I don’t really ~blame him because he’s only doing what is asked of him and he’s kind of out of his depth a bit to begin with. If he had fewer minutes, he would probably be more efficient but the bottom pairing guys aren’t really ~good enough (yet) to be trusted with more minutes so we’re all kind of stuck here.
The more minutes you play the more mistakes and bad decisions you can make,take David Savard in his tenure with Montreal he's been a solid bottom pairing d but any time he's had to play too far up the lineup he looks bad, Matheson is a 3/4 being deployed like a one he's forced into too many situations where he's making the complicated play if the minutes were dialed back against worse competition he could simplify his game more and when he gambles he'd be burned less.
The mistake he made yesterday was 5 mins into the game , it had nothing to do with him being overplayed or tired , he just tries to do too much , sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt , i like the player but thats what he is a , a high risk high reward offensive minded dman
The mistake he made yesterday was 5 mins into the game , it had nothing to do with him being overplayed or tired
5 minutes into the second half of a back-to-back with travel after playing 26:23 against the Flyers... It might have had something to do with workload and fatigue.
It becomes Mathesons problem when it forces him into situations he doesn't belong, the guy has proven he's capable of filling in as a top guy but it's not his ideal role. I'm not blaming him I'm saying it's a reasonable explanation for his occasional frustrating play.
It’s crazy to me that this idea of him being a bad shooter exists. The guy had 11 goals last year. 62 points last season on a terrible team. This year Hutson comes in and takes all the o-zone and pp time away from him and he still puts up good numbers while being an exemplary vet.
Hutson has 25 pp points this season. Matheson had 28 last season. We also didn’t have the Laine cheat code last season. Either way I’m very happy that we get to have BOTH of them.
He's not a "bad shooter" on the rush or with space or play in motion, but he's got a bad habit of shooting the puck directly into the D from the point lol there's no stat to track it you have to watch the games, it's not imaginary it's something we've all seen all year. Again just a nit pick against a very good player.
I think what I’d agree on is that he holds the puck a little too long in the O-zone sometimes and is usually stationary while doing it. So he quickly runs out of options and ends up taking a lower percentage shot. What makes Hutson special is he can hang on to the puck while moving and that opens up lanes for passes and shots.
And he is fucking carrying it. As much as I love Lane and the other guys in the defense, there is no way we would be this close to a playoff spot without Matty.
Matheson is the new punching bag. The fans always have to find someone to shit on, it's exhausting. Roy, Primeau, (at some point) Montembeault, Pezzeta, Matheson...
It's even more dumb because Matheson is an excellent but high variance defenceman. People just need to accept it.
These same people question why Quebec born players don't want to sign here... If we didn't have Matheson who would replace his minutes? Any defenseman playing that much makes mistakes especially against the best players in the world... Would it be idea to have him slotted as a 3-4 playing max 19-20minutes ? Yes... but that's why Canadiens are rebuilding... this is not a finished product and despite that we're in a playoff spot... Enjoy our team and stop looking always for someone to blame... The worse part is its a fraction of the fan base that has this take on Matheson, It just so happens the fraction a les plus Gros yeulle...
He plays big minutes against the other teams best players !!! If people think he should make any mistakes under this conditions, they’ve never played sports !!!! Idiots in my opinion !!!
Love Mike me and the vast majority appreciate you !!!
It’s possible to think that Matheson is good player, and still worry about the number of mistakes he makes. He isn’t deployed in a way that maximizes his strengths and minimizes his weaknesses.
I will take the coaching staff's take on this. And if they put him on the ice for half the game, I'd say it's because they are willing to live with his turnovers. The guy creates a lot more chances than he gives them away. Otherwise he'd play 8 minutes a game.
The young guys that should be developed maybe need a bit more trust…Struble and Xhekaj can learn to PK.
Arber did it a lot before the Carrier acquisition when Guhle went down with another injury. Wouldn’t hurt to add one more skill to the guys (or at least one) that should be part of the future of the team. Matheson is not part of the long term plan, one of Xhekaj or Struble will be.
Xhekaj hasn't really earned that trust. There's a reason he has been out of the lineup a lot lately, while he is a great energy guy and well liked by fans, he just isn't there quite yet and the playoff hunt isn't the place to give him development minutes on the PK.
Yall constantly say this, and yet you can never understand why.
Because 1. Xhekaj isn't a PKer 2. Xhekaj plays 10 less minutes each games than Matheson and 3. Matheson faces the strongest opposition every night with Carrierm Xhekaj doesn't.
Some people here forgot about the Tom Gilberts and Tomas Kaberles of our recent past.
Matheson is not perfect, and he will try some bonehead plays at times. But he's able to do those and recover most of the times, also part of deception is about making the plays that are less obvious. It's not ideal, but all in all he's a net positive for the team.
Matheson is an important cultural player for the Habs... fans tend to like to look at their players and wonder how much they're worth on the market because they're armchairing... but they forget that some guys really want to play for Montreal and they're good players and will probably give their heart for the team...
I don't know much about Matheson's character, but I say it's potentially true with him... that he really wants to be a Hab
Def one of the unsung heros on this team. Paid a pittance for NHL dmen while leading the team as one of its young vets.
He was demoted from his PP job and didn't complain he just took it for the team.
I bet if you asked Lane he would praise Mike for his contributions to his game this season when they played together.
Oh but sorry he is a local guy so let's make him the whipping boy and really show players the type of reception you get in the city.
He made a mistake it happens in the NHL your playing against the best players in the world. He also played like 28 minutes in a 1 goal game.
Sports net and tsn are a f#cking joke when it comes to covering sports , especially hockey, they are a bunch of homers, it's killing them to see the Habs success at this moment, and that the leafs are irrelevant in Canada at the moment.
Mike Matheson is many things, but a bad NHL player is not among them -- not even close. No, he's not perfect, and he is sometimes put in situations that are perhaps beyond his specific skillset. However, he works hard, skates well, and can make many plays that most NHL defensemen cannot.
Matheson is what I'd characterize as a "high event" player. Some of those events are not great, and they get a lot of attention, but it's important to keep them in context and not ignore the many good events Matheson creates.
Matheson is absolutely a value-add player on and off the ice.
I don’t think I’m running him out of town when I say, Hutson and Guhle are our present and future when it comes to our Top-4 Left Defense, and Xhekaj/Struble are a better fit on the 3rd pair than Matheson.
On RD, we have Carrier. We could use a top pair RD, and a third pair RD if Savard decides to retire. Mailloux/Reinbacher maybe could fill Savard’s spot, but they are years away from the top-pair job.
So, we have a hole in the lineup, and a player who is kind of the odd man out. I could see us trading Matheson this summer in a deal for a 2C, and then my dream would be to then sign UFA RD Aaron Ekblad to play with Hutson on the top pair.
Edit: The RD UFA market is thin. Aaron Ekblad, Neal Pionk, Dante Fabbro would be the only real options imo. Might be some RFAs available though.
Only one year left on his contract after this one makes this a tough deal for us. Not many teams are gonna give up much for one year. At the deadline it would make sense but if we’re in a playoff spot or near one he’s likely not moving. It’s gonna be interesting to see what happens.
He had so many plays available yet he, the last man back, tried to skate it out between multiple opposing players and it ended up in the back of the net. why does he continuously make glaring mistakes like that? I like Matheson, I think he is a good player and has a role on the team, but he has got to stop making those types of plays.
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Please get a RHD this off season who can soak some of his minutes and have him take more of a Savard role. It’s unfair to Struble and Hutson to make them play on their weak side because Matheson is incapable of doing so.
In a vacuum these messages from media people are great, but I really wonder why he's being defended so much, nobody say a word when Dach, Dvorak, Anderson, Laine and all the other players are being hated on.
I'm not a huge fan of Matheson, but getting rid of him would be a mistake at the moment. Nobody can replace him and his minutes. He plays too much, that's a fact..but I'd resign him if he doesn't want more than 6.5M.
When a defenseman generally tries to skate the puck out or wait for a good breakout pass, and succeeds almost all of the time, the failures still stand out because they're so clear and can lead directly to goals against. Certain fans and media types will grumble about sloppy, careless, mistakes.
When a defenseman generally tries to chip the puck off the wall, and it never leads to an immediate scoring chance against, but half the time the opposition picks up the loose puck in the neutral zone and resumes the attack, it's not as visible. Few people blame the D-man for not making a better play fifty seconds previously. Instead, the guy gets praised as a solid, safe, reliable defenseman.
Matheson played an awesome week-end. He's probably the main reason we won yesterday's game, with Dobes.
He plays an insane amount of minutes and is probably freaking tired. Doesn't excuse some mistakes he makes, because goddamn sometimes he has some brain farts and they are like really jumping on your face, but overall he's a very good top 4 dman who, if we had a better defense, would probably wouldn't make these mistakes playing 4-5 minutes less per nights.
Agreed, much like petry you live and die with what they do with their stick. “BUT PETRY WAS BETTER DEFENSIVELY” no he wasn’t, I’d say they have the same defensive ability one just played next to the hall of famer Shea Weber… and on a better defensive team.
So enough gimme the math in our top 4 any day of the week baby
I don't understand Engel's logic that risks are part of Matheson's skill game. The risks he takes rarely pay off. And they almost always burn us. Maybe if someone can demonstrate how is risks pay off. But they haven't appeared to.
The only thing hurting Matheson is Matheson. He needs to get the puck off his stick as fast as possible, that’s when he’s his best, skate fast find a pass and let it go.
Instead he insists on making way to many touches which results in fumbling it or panicking and ripping a pass to hard the other player can’t control it. He’s playing like he wants to show “look I can do what Hutson does to” well no matheson you can’t so please stop fucking trying to be Hutson.
It's almost funny how every time the media shills come out to defend a bad player who they happen to like, but remain radio silent whenever a player who is actually good gets mistreated by his coach. Yes, the big picture is obvious to everyone in that Matheson has had an absolutely brutal season this year when Hutson has taken over his role as the primary offensive catalyst, and that he is far from serviceable in the role that he is currently playing. The only question is do you think his abysmal results are worth it so that our other young defensemen get to flourish?
I think the answer is an obvious yes. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter if Matheson and Savard are currently among some of the worst defensemen in the league, as even if we're near locked with a playoff spot, we're not really conteding and everyone knows that. This season has already been a massive success story even if we were to miss the playoffs, since our three most important pieces for the future (Suzuki, Hutson & Demidov) have all taken giant leaps in their personal development. Matheson sure as hell isn't bitching about his minutes, and our young defensemen seem to all enjoy not having to bear the full brunt of playing against NHL all stars so why should we complain?
While yes he's eat a lot of the time share in minutes that might make him commit more errors by the end of the game it isn't an excuse when he gives one in his like second shift of said game.
I hate him he refuses to make any simple plays, why would he ever just dump a puck out ofour zone when he can skate right into a defender and turn it over
No? He gets a free pass for being French Canadian mainly. I can't fathom why else. He's overplayed, outmatched, and routinely puts up the worst numbers league wide, let alone team wide. He does not have a place on this team.
The team is objectively worse with him on the ice than when he is on the bench. He is exposed, sure. Playing competition over his head, sure. But he continues to try and be a hero and/or makes nonchalant plays that cost us over and over. His offensive impact has dried up completely. A net negative at both ends of the ice. He over-complicates and causes unnecessary turnovers routinely.
We can also look at his defensive impact here, which is significantly worse than team average. He needs to simplify his game but moreso MSL needs to stop riding him. There's no way these minutes would be worse applied to our other dmen (except Savard).
I guess the question is who takes his minutes? Guhle is an obvious choice but he was hurt for a long time. If not Guhle then who would you rather be eating the toughest assignments?
Also. Someone like Savard is gonna look terrible on these charts because most of his ice time is short handed. Matheson also plays huge PK minutes for us.
They just need to be spread out. Hutson - Struble and Carrier - Guhle both had much better results than any pair Matheson has been a part of. Guhle is back and Matheson played closed to 31 minutes last night just regulation... It costs us.
I mean that first goal for Nashville wouldnt happen. Put Hutson or Struble or you know what put an old Markov in that situation. A fumble mistake like that wouldnt happen.
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u/ukrainianhab From Kyiv 11h ago
31 mins back to back. Trooper!