Michael Matheson
Matheson with the Portland Pirates in 2015
Born (1994-02-27) February 27, 1994
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). Matheson was drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round, 23rd overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

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 of 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 his wife 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 GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2009–10 Lac Saint-Louis Lions QMAAA 30561133 17671310
2010–11 Lac Saint-Louis Lions QMAAA 3514243872 157182516
2011–12 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 5311162784 54154
2012–13 Boston College HE 368172578 —————
2013–14 Boston College HE 383182149 —————
2014–15 Boston College HE 383222526 —————
2014–15 San Antonio Rampage AHL 50228 —————
2015–16 Portland Pirates AHL 548122030 30112
2015–16 Florida Panthers NHL 30002 50110
2016–17 Florida Panthers NHL 817101736 —————
2017–18 Florida Panthers NHL 8110172761 —————
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 758192744 —————
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 598122014 20008
2020–21 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 445111628 60000
2021–22 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 7411203133 71566
2022–23 Montreal Canadiens NHL 488263433 —————
NHL totals 46557115172251 2016714
Medal record
Representing  Canada
ice hockey
Ice Hockey World Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Russia
Silver medal – second place2017 Germany/France

International

Year Team Event Result GPGAPtsPIM
2011 Canada Quebec U17 4th 626810
2011 Canada IH18 1st place, gold medalist(s) 50002
2016 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 102460
2017 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1016710
Junior totals 1126812
Senior totals 203101310

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. 1 2 "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.
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