Teammates, coach come to Matheson’s defence after social media criticism
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Mike Matheson’s teammates and coach have come to his defence after the Montreal Canadiens blueliner had a tough outing on Saturday night.
Matheson was a minus-two and on the ice for the overtime goal that sealed the 4-3 win for the New Jersey Devils. He had 24:32 minutes of ice time but hasn’t had a point in six games.
Criticism over Matheson’s play on Saturday emerged on social media, and captain Nick Suzuki took exception to it.
“He plays the hardest minutes on our team, against the toughest players,” Suzuki said on Monday. “Defence is a position where mistakes get blown out of proportion. He’s been our top D for the whole season. I think people are definitely being too hard on him.”
Last season as the Canadiens’ top defenceman, Matheson averaged a career-high 25:33 minutes, scoring 11 goals with 62 points in 82 games.
“The guy competes,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis on Tuesday. “He does so many good things on the ice. It’s easy to point out the obvious at times, but the market is the market.
“But for us, we know what he means to our team. He plays big minutes, he covers a lot of ice, big assignments, Matty is a guy that cares so much, and he’s a true pro. He’s a great example. I would say to the fans we’re lucky to have him.”
Paired with star rookie Lane Hutson, Matheson has been playing on his off side and averaging over 24 minutes a game for the third straight season since arriving via trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2022-23 season.
The emergence of Hutson has also meant that Matheson has demoted to the team’s second power-play unit and playing a bit of a different role.
“He’s the best teammate,” said Hutson. “He’s an ultimate pro. Being able to play with him has been pretty fun.”
The Canadiens are back in action on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets.