Mike Matheson has been in the top-10 in three separate categories for the past year

In Montreal, especially with Kirby Dach on the sidelines, there’s only one trio. Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky seem to be the only ones producing.

In Washington, this trio scored three of their five goals. And this afternoon against the Stars, they scored both goals in a loss.

But in addition to this trio, let’s not forget that Mike Matheson also exists. He really is this team’s number-one quarterback, and throughout the NHL, he ranks among the best in many categories.

First, as TVA Sports statistician Guillaume Villemaire points out, Matheson is in the top-10 among all defensemen in goals (14), points (64) and average playing time per game (just over 25 minutes) over the last 82 games in the last 365 days.

64 points in an 82-game season is elite production, especially for a defenseman. And to think that Kent Hughes acquired it for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling… A robbery.

Tomorrow, the Quebecer will play his 100th game in the uniform of his childhood club. In 99 games, he has collected 72 points.

By the way, I’ve been trying to figure out which team Matheson wouldn’t play for on the first pair. You can take my word for it: there aren’t many teams that wouldn’t have the Habs’ 8 on their first defense pair…

At $4.875 million annually, the left-hander is here at a discount. In two years, he’ll become a UFA, and if he keeps producing at this rate, he could get a nice raise. Will it be in Montreal? Obviously, it’s easy to say right now, but in two years, anything can happen.

Remember that defensemen like Lane Hutson, Adam Engstrom, Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher should be NHL players. After all, there aren’t millions of defensive positions in a 23-player line-up…

In short, this season, Matheson ranks 11th among defensemen in points (38). He also ranks fifth in average playing time (25:22).

In short

– Quite a player.

– Very funny.

– A 42nd for Auston Matthews.

– Hat.

No 2nd line center, a snakebit Cole Caufield until January, a 19 year old Juraj Slafkovsky on his line.

Respect captain Nick Suzuki pic.twitter.com/KcVRT5zpF1

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) February 11, 2024

– Whew.

Montreal CF defense put to the testhttps://t.co/WWtCpmagrr

– RDS (@RDSca) February 11, 2024