Mike Matheson is the 68th best NHL defenseman

Mike Matheson has been playing the best hockey of his career since arriving in Montreal.

He broke his record for most points in a single season in his first year with the team, with 34 points in 48 games…

And he repeated the feat last season, finishing the regular season with 62 points (!) in 82 games.

But beyond the points, we know that Matheson has certain shortcomings on the defensive side of the game.

He’s not always the most reliable guy on the ice and he sometimes makes bad decisions, but that’s often what happens when you look at other defenders with an offensive style like him. They’re a lot alike.

That said, perhaps it’s Matheson’s defensive weakness that’s really important in the eyes of 2,896 fans, who took part in a poll(JFresh) and were asked to vote for the NHL’s top 80 defensemen.

I say this because in the top-80 players at this position, Matheson’s name comes in at… 68th :

Here’s your top 80 defensemen with change since last summer included: pic.twitter.com/s0FhWKohQt

– JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 11, 2024

Is this unfair to the Canadiens’ defenseman?

Matheson, after all, finished last season as the 9th highest scoring defenseman in the NHL.

He had his place among the elite offensively, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

On the other hand, not seeing Matheson among the top-40 or top-50 players at his position means only one thing.

Fans think he’s too bad defensively to really be one of the best players on the blue line.

That’s the only logical explanation I can come up with, especially since Matheson finished last season in the top-10 for points among defensemen. Hard to ask for more, after all…

It’s also worth noting that Matheson is the only Habs player to break into the top-80 best defensemen in the JFresh poll.

Perhaps the scenario will be different next year if Kaiden Guhle and Lane Hutson have a good season…

Overtime

– Impressive.

Most shutouts in a season in the cap era:

12 – Martin Brodeur (2007)
11 – Henrik Lundqvist (2011)
10 – Steve Mason (2009)
10 – Jonathan Quick (2012)
10 – Miikka Kiprusoff (2006)
10 – Henrik Lundqvist (2008)
10 – Marc-Andre Fleury (2015)

Brodeur played 78 games that year and… pic.twitter.com/P1OwVsmMG2

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) July 11, 2024

– I laughed!

Most points from a goalie this season:

5 – Jacob Markstrom
3 or fewer – everyone else

Nice to see New Jersey is beefing up their depth scoring. pic.twitter.com/jjLQ39XSSS

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) July 11, 2024