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If Mike Matheson wants to stay in Montreal, he’ll have to leave money on the table
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Last night, we learned that Mike Matheson met with Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton in Buffalo. The two executives, who are there for the Combine, chatted to Matheson, who has family in the area… and the subject of his contract obviously came up.

Without getting into any real negotiations (Matheson’s agent wasn’t there), they still chatted for 90 minutes, and what’s clear is that Matheson wants to stay in town.

That said, Matheson is a rather special case. He’s one of the few veterans on the blue line in Montreal, and the club can’t really afford to part with him right now… but they’ve got a lot of young defensemen on the rise, so signing him long-term could lock up some of those youngsters.

And when you factor in the fact that left-handers Lane Hutson and Kaiden Guhle are in town to stay, you come to the following conclusion: if Matheson wants to stay in Montreal, he won’t have much choice but to leave money on the table.

Because he won’t be able to break the bank in Montreal.

Another team, with a more pressing need for a top-4 left-handed defenseman, would be much better off giving Matheson a lucrative contract, as he’s an extremely useful guy for a team. He’s not perfect, but you can do a lot worse than him on a top-4.

He eats up big minutes, he accepts the role he’s given and he’s capable of helping out on both the powerplay and the shorthanded. He’s the kind of player who can help any club.

But in Montreal, the presence of Hutson and Guhle means that Matheson is a bit too much. But there’s one thing that could help Matheson make a big splash with the Habs: these two guys have shown they can be effective on the right.

It’s not ideal, but if the Habs want to keep Matheson for a few more years, there’s a way to get them all playing on the top-4. But then again, the Habs won’t be desperate to offer Matheson a big contract: packing one of the two youngsters on the right is a way of accommodating the veteran, not the club’s primary objective.

In a world where Matheson really wants to stay in Montreal, he’d better be prepared to accept a contract that may be a little shorter and that will earn him less money than he could get on the open market. We know he’s happy to be close to home, and we’ll see what price he puts on that.

Especially as, in his case, signing this summer isn’t really advantageous given that he’s just experienced a big drop in production. Waiting until next summer increases his chances of getting a good contract… but he’s not going to break the bank in Montreal, because the Habs aren’t the team that needs him most.


Overtime

– The Rocket thanks its fans.

– NBA contracts are another game.

– What do you think?

– Too bad.

– The club completely dropped it late in the game… and it turns to an old face.

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