Canadiens working on possible extensions for Matheson and Laine
With the success the Montreal Canadiens have been experiencing, the team is looking to lock up a couple of key players for the foreseeable future.
Canadiens defenseman Michael Matheson has been an important piece on the team’s blue line for the past few years. Even with newer faces like Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson, Matheson has been an important member of the team that is slowly rising to the top of the Atlantic Division. The Quebec native is in the final season of his current contract, which has a cap hit of $4.875 million.
The same goes for Patrik Laine. The Finnish sniper is in the final year of his four-year deal, which he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022. Even after battling through injuries last season, Laine managed to score 20 goals and is hopeful to keep being a key offensive weapon in Montreal.
On Wednesday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, David Pagnotta joined Irfaan Gaffar and Colby Cohen to discuss the current talks between the Habs and Matheson and Laine.
David Pagnotta: [Matheson] loves playing there, loves being a part of it, loves being a mentor to some of the younger guys. Now, his game has changed, or his responsibilities have changed, with Hutson being in the mix, and obviously, now the addition of Noah Dobson. He can be a little bit more responsible as a two-way type of defenseman…He can be relied upon to be that steady guy who can contribute offensively, and he’s off to a decent start with four points. But that’s the key right there, is the 24:05. If he can eat up minutes on that back end and help out some of the younger guys along the way, that’s where the value really comes into play for Martin St. Louis and Kent Hughes and company in Montreal.
They had dialogue over the summer. They re-engaged in that in preseason, and they’re going back and forth right now. It’s an open line of communication. He’d like to stay. The Habs would like to do it, but how does that work? Are we talking about a three-, four-year extension? He’s 31 going on 32 [years old]. Are we talking about $6-, $7 million per year? Does he want a little bit more? Will you reduce it if you extend on term? … I think he wants to be in that range, depending on term. I think the Habs would be comfortable there, depending on how the term looks.
The other guy to look at there, Patrik Laine, as well. UFA at the end of the season. They had talks in the summer. They rekindled those a little bit in preseason, but I think everybody’s going to wait and see mode with Laine before they determine what path to take with him. He’s got to produce, and perhaps a little bit more five-on-five versus the power play. If you can do that consistently, then I think those talks will start to pick up, but that’s a wait-and-see mode right now.
You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…