Hockey

“I’m convinced that Mike Matheson will get $9 million a year”
Félix Forget
“I’m convinced that Mike Matheson will get $9 million a year”
Credit: Getty Images

On July 1, Mike Matheson will become an uncompensated free agent. The defenseman, who will be 32 at the time, will have one last chance to sign a big NHL contract.

It's safe to assume that his next pact will be worth more than $39 million, the amount he earned during the eight years of his current deal.

Obviously, Montreal would like to keep Matheson in town. He plays an important role for the Habs… but the club will need Matheson to be willing to leave money on the table in order to keep him. Because if he does achieve autonomy, the biggest offer on the table won't be from the Habs, who have already invested heavily in their brigade.

And Antoine Roussel, for his part, expects Matheson to make lots and lots of money on his next contract, as he discussed on the Sortie de zone podcast:

I'm convinced that Mike Matheson will get $9 million a year. – Antoine Roussel

Obviously, it's an amount that's bound to make people sit up and take notice. We're talking about an annual salary that would be higher than that of Lane Hutson, but slightly lower than that of Noah Dobson.

We're talking about different cases in the sense that Matheson will be as free as a bird (unlike the other two, who weren't yet when they signed their contracts), but it's still a staggering amount (with which not all panellists agreed, it should be noted).

That said, Matheson will indeed have a ton of leverage if he hits the market. He will, after all, be one of the few big names available… and more importantly, one of the few impact defenders on the market. John Carlson, Rasmus Andersson and Jacob Trouba are the others.

Beyond the exact number, what's clear is that Matheson (who's having a big season, remember) will be in a position to secure a real big contract. And if he wants to stay in Montreal, he'll have to be prepared to leave money on the table.

And even if the two sides don't want to negotiate in public, hearing Matheson say that talks aren't progressing (as Richard Labbé notes in the podcast) isn't a great sign either.


Overtime

– It's understandable.

– Well done.

– Very impressive.

– Brady Tkachuk nears a return.

– What do you think?

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