Mike Matheson

This article is about the ice hockey defenceman. For other people, see Michael Matheson.

Mike Matheson
Matheson with the Portland Pirates in 2015
Born	(1994-02-27) February 27, 1994 (age 30) Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	193 lb (88 kg; 13 st 11 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Montreal Canadiens Florida Panthers Pittsburgh Penguins
National team	Canada
NHL draft	23rd overall, 2012 Florida Panthers
Playing career	2015–present

Michael Matheson (born February 27, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Florida Panthers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Matheson has also previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career

As a youth, Matheson played in the 2006 and 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from the West Island. ^[1] He began his junior career in the Quebec Midget AAA league playing with the Lac St. Louis Lions from 2009 to 2011. ^[2] Matheson then left to join the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he led all defencemen in scoring in 2011–12. He then committed to play for Boston College of the NCAA starting in 2012–13. He cited his motivation for leaving his native Quebec was the ability to develop better as a player in the USHL and in the NCAA. ^[3] Following his freshman year at Boston College, Matheson was named to Hockey East's All-Rookie Team. ^[4] For his sophomore campaign, Matheson earned All-First Team honours in the Hockey East conference ^[5] as well as All-Second Team East Honors in the NCAA as determined by the AHCA. ^[6]

Matheson decided on April 30 to remain at Boston College for the 2014–15 season amid rumours of his leaving school to sign with the NHL team that drafted him, the Florida Panthers. ^[7] On May 8, he was named team captain for the 2014–15 season. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, Matheson signed an entry-level contract with the Panthers, forgoing his senior year of NCAA eligibility, and was sent to play with the Panthers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. ^[8]

Matheson made his NHL debut on March 23, 2016, in a 3–1 win over the Winnipeg Jets. ^[9] He recorded his first career NHL goal the following season on October 18, 2016, against the Tampa Bay Lightning. ^[10]

On October 7, 2017, the Panthers signed Matheson to an eight-year, $39 million contract extension worth $4.875 million annually. ^{[11] [12]} On October 13, 2018, during a game against the Vancouver Canucks, Matheson checked Canucks forward Elias Pettersson, resulting in Pettersson leaving the game with a concussion. ^[13] While Matheson was not penalized for the play on the ice, the NHL Department of Player Safety believed that Matheson had an intent to injure, resulting in him suspension two games, thereby forfeiting $52,419.36 in salary. ^[14] Following the incident, Matheson said, "I know deep down there was no frustration in me when that play happened and there was no intent to injure on my part;" he apologized to Pettersson via text. ^[15]

On September 24, 2020, Matheson was traded by the Panthers to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Colton Sceviour, in exchange for Patric Hörnqvist. ^[16]

On July 16, 2022, Matheson, along with a 2023 fourth-round draft pick, was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling. ^[17] The trade reunited Matheson with his former agent Kent Hughes, who had become general manager of the Canadiens in January 2022. ^[18] Expected to become the team's top defenceman, Matheson was considered to have performed strongly in the preseason games lead up to the 2022–23 season, but developed an abdominal muscle strain while participating in a Kraft Hockeyville game. It was announced that he would miss the first eight weeks of the season. ^[19] He made his debut in the team's eighteenth game of the season on November 19, registered a goal and an assist in a 5–4 shootout win over the Philadelphia Flyers. ^[20]

In advance of the 2023–24 season, with the departure of Joel Edmundson to the Washington Capitals, Matheson was named as an alternate captain of the Canadiens. ^[21]

Personal life

Matheson met Emily Pfalzer, an American professional ice hockey player and Olympic gold medalist, while both were playing at Boston College. The two became engaged in the summer of 2018 and married on July 20, 2019. ^[22] Their son, Hudson, was born in 2021. ^[23]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2009–10	Lac Saint-Louis Lions	QMAAA		30	5	6	11	33		17	6	7	13	10
2010–11	Lac Saint-Louis Lions	QMAAA		35	14	24	38	72		15	7	18	25	16
2011–12	Dubuque Fighting Saints	USHL		53	11	16	27	84		5	4	1	5	4
2012–13	Boston College	HE		36	8	17	25	78		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Boston College	HE		38	3	18	21	49		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Boston College	HE		38	3	22	25	26		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	San Antonio Rampage	AHL		5	0	2	2	8		—	—	—	—	—
2015–16	Portland Pirates	AHL		54	8	12	20	30		3	0	1	1	2
2015–16	Florida Panthers	NHL		3	0	0	0	2		5	0	1	1	0
2016–17	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	7	10	17	36		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	10	17	27	61		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Florida Panthers	NHL		75	8	19	27	44		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Florida Panthers	NHL		59	8	12	20	14		2	0	0	0	8
2020–21	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		44	5	11	16	28		6	0	0	0	0
2021–22	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		74	11	20	31	33		7	1	5	6	6
2022–23	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		48	8	26	34	33		—	—	—	—	—
2023–24	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		82	11	51	62	58		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				547	68	166	234	309		20	1	6	7	14

Medal record
Representing   Canada
ice hockey
Ice Hockey World Championships
	2016 Russia
	2017 Germany/France

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011	Canada Quebec	U17	4th		6	2	6	8	10
2011	Canada	IH18			5	0	0	0	2
2016	Canada	WC			10	2	4	6	0
2017	Canada	WC			10	1	6	7	10
Junior totals					11	2	6	8	12
Senior totals					20	3	10	13	10

Awards and honours

Award	Year	Ref
College
All-Hockey East Rookie Team	2012–13
All-Hockey East First Team	2013–14
AHCA East First-Team All-American	2013–14	[6]
International
World Championships Best Defenceman	2016	[24]

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
2. "Mike Matheson, Hockey's Future". Hockey's Future. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
3. Odebralski, Glenn (June 22, 2012). "Adding To The Blueline With Matheson". Florida Panthers . Retrieved June 22, 2012.
4. "Hockey East announces 2013 All-Rookie Team". Hockey East. March 22, 2013. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2013.
5. "league announces All-Star Team". Hockey East. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
6. "Six hockey east players selected as All-Americans". Hockey East. April 11, 2014. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
7. Dilks, Chris (April 29, 2014). "Michael Matheson Returning to Boston College". SB Nation. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
8. "Panthers agree to terms with Michael Matheson". Florida Panthers . April 1, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
9. Leitner, Jim (March 23, 2016). "Matheson's NHL debut a whirlwind". ushl.com. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
10. "Point scores shootout winner, Lightning beat Panthers 4-3". cbssports.com. October 18, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
11. @TSNBobMcKenzie (October 7, 2017). "AAV of $4.875M on an eight-year, $39M contract. Done deal" (Tweet). Retrieved October 10, 2017– via Twitter.
12. McLaren, Ian (October 9, 2017). "Panthers announce 8-year extension for Mike Matheson". TheScore.com. The Score. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
13. "Canucks' Elias Pettersson out 7-10 days with concussion". TSN.ca. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
14. "Matheson suspended two games for actions in Panthers game". NHL.com. October 15, 2018. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
15. "Michael Matheson says 'it wasn't my intent' to injure Elias Pettersson". sportsnet.ca. October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.. Thomas Drance (Senior Writer, The Athletic) described Matheson as "genuinely a remarkable human being".
16. "Pens acquire Matheson and Sceviour from Panthers for Patric Hornqvist". Pittsburgh Penguins. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
17. "Canadiens trade defenceman Jeff Petry to Penguins". Sportsnet . July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
18. Cowan, Stu (July 17, 2022). "A homecoming for newest Canadien Mike Matheson". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved July 17, 2022.
19. Cowan, Stu (October 13, 2022). "Mike Matheson to miss at least eight weeks". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved October 13, 2022.
20. Hickey, Pat (November 20, 2022). "'We found a way to win,' Mike Matheson says of Montreal debut". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved November 20, 2022.
21. Zurkowsky, Herb (September 11, 2023). "Mike Matheson in a 'pinch-myself moment' after being named Canadiens' assistant captain". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved September 12, 2023.
22. Cowan, Stu (September 19, 2018). "Road to NHL started with ringette for Panthers' Mike Matheson". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved October 16, 2018.
23. Cowan, Stu (September 27, 2022). "Nervous, exciting Canadiens debut for Mike Matheson". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved October 13, 2022.
24. "Laine lands MVP". International Ice Hockey Federation. Archived from the original on May 23, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2016.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jonathan Huberdeau	Florida Panthers' first round draft pick 2012	Succeeded by Aleksander Barkov