Cowan: Canadiens ‘raised the bar' with playoff run, Mike Matheson says

Montreal Gazette

07-05-2025

Montreal Canadiens
By
Mike Matheson's season isn't over yet.
The Canadiens defenceman accepted an invitation to play for Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship, which begins Friday. Canada's first game in Sweden will be Saturday against Slovenia.
'I want to continue to play important games for next year,' Matheson said last Friday, when the Canadiens met with the media for the last time this season. 'Just because we made the playoffs this year, the league isn't going to let us make them next year.'
During his 10 seasons in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Canadiens, Matheson has made the playoffs five times and never advanced past the first round. He realizes how hard it is just to get to the post-season and believes his young Canadiens teammates learned that this season.
'There's one team I feel like that can walk away from this season feeling good about everything they accomplish, and that's the team that wins (the Stanley Cup),' Matheson said. 'I think we accomplished a lot in our season and were able to attain some goals that we had set out for ourselves. But I think in doing that we raised the bar and realized that there's a lot more that we want to do and accomplish in the years to come.
'The playoffs, it's a different animal,' Matheson added. 'It was the first time for a lot of guys on our team, and I think it was a great learning experience to see just how high the level of play is in the playoffs and how much growth that we need to continue to work on to get to that level.'
ROSTER UPDATE | Mike Matheson has been added to 's National Men's Team for #MensWorlds.
MISE À JOUR | Mike Matheson s'ajoute à l'équipe nationale masculine du pour le #MondialMasculin. pic.twitter.com/EwwAchP8Ur
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) May 6, 2025
Matheson played a key role in the rebuilding Canadiens making the playoffs for the first time in four years. He led the team in ice time with an average of 25:05 per game, which ranked seventh in the NHL.
Last season, Matheson had his best offensive season with 11-51-62 totals — 28 more points than his previous best in 2022-23. The arrival of rookie defenceman Lane Hutson this season changed Matheson's role and he lost his spot on the No. 1 power-play unit. Last season, Matheson led the Canadiens in power-play ice time with an average of 3:41 per game. This season, he led the team in short-handed ice time with an average of 3:28 (ranking third in the NHL) and finished with 6-25-31 totals. The Canadiens ranked ninth in the NHL in penalty killing.
'Last year, I showed that I can bring things offensively and I think this year I grew a lot as a defender,' said Matheson, who has one season left on his contract with a US$4.875 million salary-cap hit.
The retirement of David Savard means the Canadiens will lean even more on Matheson's experience and leadership next season.
The bilingual Matheson grew up in Pointe-Claire as a big Canadiens fan. He already knew what the city is like when the Canadiens are in the playoffs, but wanted to experience it as a player.
'It was amazing,' he said. 'Through the season and having those ups and downs, and then ultimately being able to get into the playoffs and give (the fans) something real to cheer for was super exciting. It had always been my goal since I got traded here to play for this team in the playoffs. So to be able to accomplish that and experience it and experience being a Montreal Canadien in the playoffs and feeling the energy. .... Walking around town and people would be coming up to you and saying how excited they are and how inspired they were by our team. All those amazing things that make it so special to be a Hab.'
It was also special for Matheson to watch his 3-year-old son Hudson cheer the Canadiens on.
'My wife and I always said that we wouldn't force him to play hockey or even be interested in it, and it's literally all he wants to do,' Matheson said. 'I don't know if it's a gene thing or what. But it was definitely really cool to share that with him. My wife took a bunch of videos during the games of him waving the towels and stuff like that. As big picture as the playoffs are, it was also a very special little moment for our family, too.'
Matheson's wife, Emily, encouraged him to accept the offer from Team Canada. The couple met when they were both playing hockey at Boston College and Emily — a Buffalo native — won gold medals with Team USA at the 2018 Olympics as well as at the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 world championships. Matheson won gold with Canada at the 2016 world championship and silver the next year.
'When I received the call, the chance to play for Team Canada is always a great experience and it's very important for me,' Matheson said. 'I have two children who are very young, so it's not something that is necessarily easy to do. But after speaking with my wife, she understands what it is to play for your country.
'I'm very excited to have this chance.'