At first glance, the Defense of the Montreal Canadian seems, for the rare time, full of talent.
Dobson has arrived. Guhle is progressing. Hutson is a show in the making. Reinbacher bangs at the door. Carrier is reliable. Xhekaj and Strubble fight each night for ice time.
In short, the defensive site is practically finished. But there is a problem. A problem that is obvious. Mike Matheson is too much.
And according to The Athletic’s analysis, there is no longer any doubt: a transaction is inevitable.
In the projected training of The Athleticwe still place Mike Matheson with Lane Hutson. Two left -handed defenders, two offensive profiles, two fluid skaters, two creative players … but also two players who tend to make the same mistakes.
Risky reversals. Passes in traffic. Hazardous climbs. In short, a technical danger that could cost expensive.
And above all, why still have Matheson play on the right? Why force Hutson or Math to play out of position when you know that the Guhle – Dobson duo is concreted, and that the real duet of the future is Hutson – Reinbacher? That’s the heart of the problem.
Reinbacher is ready. But Matheson is in the way.
David Reinbacher had a good end of the season in Laval. He may not have been dominant, but he is ready to jump.
At the very least, he deserves to learn to play in the NHL with Lane Hutson, his partner of the future. And yet … We probably leave it in the AHL to start the season. For what? Because Matheson is still there.
It’s as simple as that. Mike Matheson’s contract blocks the arrival of the young Austrian. He takes a post on the top-4. He eats minutes. He needs responsibility. But these responsibilities are exactly those that we want to offer to Reinbacher.
Everyone knows: the Canadian sent a clear message to the Matheson clan. Either he accepts a contract for “peanuts” (here we speak of less than $ 4 million annually to stay in Montreal as a mentor), or he will be exchanged.
He tries to play on his attachment to the city, on his love of the sweater, on the fact that he is French -speaking … but CH will not give in to emotion.
Because the objective is clear: free a chair to reinbacher and use Matheson as a currency to go and find what is sorely lacking in the team: a second center.
Mike Matheson, even a year from the end of his contract, still has some value on the market. He still patina as well. He can play big minutes. And above all, it has an impeccable reputation in the locker room.
In a league where several teams seek to solidify their top-4 in defense, Matheson could be a central room in an exchange involving a Top 6 center. Anaheim (MCTAVISH) and Tampa Bay (Cirelli) would not say no to a left-handed defender who skates like the wind.
For Anaheim, it would be necessary to include the choice of 1st round 2026 (protected) to tip the scales, so MCTAVISH is young and dominant.
And we must not forget the arrival of an offensive winger like Isaac Howard in Edmonton (exchanged against Sam O’Reilly), opening the way to something even bigger?
Do you have to ask the question: do the oilers, adding Howard now in their top 9, are not discreetly released a position to depart from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins?
After all, RNH has spent most of the playoff series on the left wing, not in the center. Despite himself, he became an offensive support player.
By inserting Howard into this same chair, an offensive left-handed winger, younger, cheaper, Edmonton could justify the exchange of Nugent-Hopkins to meet another obvious need: mobility in the blue line.
And which defender patina better than Mike Matheson? The latter would perfectly frame in the fast and vertical system of the oilers, where the transition game is essential with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Isaac Howard could be the play that unlocks a Matheson – RNH exchange. One more domino in the seduction operation for Connor McDavid.
Kent Hughes must take advantage of it. He has a surplus on the left. He has young people to raise. And he has a huge deficiency in the center. It is an exchange that is essential. Not in six months. NOW.
That’s not all. By keeping Matheson in the alignment, not only do we block Reinbacher, but we also pushed Xhekaj or Jayden Struble outside the Top 6. In the current projection of The Athletic, one of the two robust defenders would be constantly in the stands.
Now, Xhekaj and Struble are two unique profiles. Physical, intimidating, young, still developing defenders.
To let them rot in the stands is to spoil a development capital, while creating tension and problems in the room.
And all that why? So that Matheson plays right… with Hutson?
The truth is brutal, but inevitable: the Defense of the Montreal Canadian is ready to take the next step.
Guhle and Dobson form a first balanced duo. Hutson and Reinbacher are intended to be the elite of the future. Carrier is a discreet but useful stabilizer. Xhekaj and Strubble share a complementary role.
Matheson no longer has its place in this dynamic. He has become, without his knowledge, the brake on development. The cap in the neck. The discrepancy between the present and the future.
The transaction is not an option. It is an obligation.
Kent Hughes said it: he wants to make room for his young people. He proved it by exchanging Logan Mailloux. He proved it by releasing space in attack. He cannot be an exception for Matheson.
And to see the current projections, there is only one logical conclusion: if the Canadian wants to move forward, he must go back with Matheson. Recule to jump better. Exchange to better build.
The time is no longer for feelings. The time is for action.
Mike Matheson must leave.
