Sidney Crosby in Montreal: “It’s bound to happen if Mike Matheson stays”

For the past 24 hours, Mike Matheson has been the talk of Montreal. The defenseman is suddenly the most important file in town, now that Lane Hutson and the executives have been settled.And we know that Matheson, even though he's a complex case, is really, really respected by his bosses.So we'll have to see how this file unblocks… but tonight, on JiC, Renaud Lavoie gave a good argument to encourage the Habs to sign Matheson.And that argument is… Sidney Crosby:

[Sidney Crosby in Montreal], it's definitely going to happen. He has to say yes, but he also has to have a guy like Mike Matheson, in my opinion.

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Renaud Lavoie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1spyX3h2u0

The source explains that Crosby and Matheson are very, very good friends. The two guys are very close to each other (they're in contact year-round), and you'd think that goes back to when the two were teammates in Pittsburgh.And he adds that for Crosby, a guy who sticks to his routine, having Matheson around would help him in that respect.It's an argument that must weigh in the balance when the time comes to decide whether the Habs are ready to pay the defenseman. If they really have good reason to believe that Crosby would be willing to come to town in the event that Matheson signs a contract extension, the club should seriously consider going that route.Even if it means giving him another year or two, you know: it's worth it to bring Crosby to town. And you'd think Geoff Molson would have no problem paying that contract if it came with additional revenue, which would be the case with Crosby's arrival.We'll have to keep an eye on this, but it's an extremely interesting piece of information. Spacer title='Prolongation'] You have to ask yourself whether, from this point of view, it's in the Habs' interest to settle Matheson's case quickly. Because if Crosby wants to leave at the next trade deadline and Matheson isn't under contract for 2025-26, maybe that would make him less inclined to join the Canadiens.Assuming Matheson really is the key to all this, of course.