The Montreal Canadiens acquired Mike Matheson in a summer trade and the initial reaction was that he was a cap dump by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Once Canadiens fans realized he was the key component in the Jeff Petry trade, the initial reaction was that it was a bit underwhelming. However, once we all had a chance to dig a little deeper, we realized Matheson had a pretty strong season for the Pens and could be a solid addition.
Then, the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native showed up and had a strong showing in training camp. Not only did he now look like a good addition, he looked like the likely number one defenceman on the Canadiens blue line entering the season.
Canadiens Lose Mike Matheson For Much Longer Than Anticipated
Matheson was injured late in camp, but it sounded like he would not miss much time. He did sit out the season opener, but the team made it seem like he was just about ready to return. Apparently, that is not the case.
The team surprisingly announced last night that Matheson is going to miss eight weeks with his injury. He underwent an MRI which revealed an abdominal muscle strain and that is going to put the defender out for two months.
The Canadiens are also without veteran left defender Joel Edmundson and are now without arguably their two best blue liners. Edmundson’s status is somewhat up in the air so it could be quite a while where the Habs need to deal with these significant injuries.
They were forced to use four rookie defenders on opening night. Kaiden Guhle, playing in his first ever NHL game, led the team in ice time. Arber Xhekaj was also making his big league debut and Jordan Harris and Jonathan Kovacevic are still rookies though they played a handful of games each last season.
The rookies looked good on opening night. Guhle was a monster, Harris and Kovacevic took regular shifts together as the second pairing and Xhekaj added a bit of toughness to the third pair. Aside from two breakout passes where Xhekaj, and partner Chris Wideman were caught, they all looked pretty good in a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But the young guns are going to be tested in the coming weeks now. Being an NHL player is not so much whether you can do it, but can you do it four nights a week every week for six months? Many young players can look good in their debut, or hold their own for a couple weeks.
However, the grind of an NHL season gets to be too much for many players after a while. Many young players (remember Kotkaniemi) can look great for a handful of games but it doesn’t mean they are ready for the physicality that comes with a full NHL schedule.
Take the next few days for an example. The Canadiens travel to Detroit to play the Red Wings tonight, then head off to visit the Washingon Capitals tomorrow. They are back home on Monday to face the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Were the Canadiens rookie defenders up to the task in the season opener? Yes, they absolutely were. Are they ready to shut down Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in their 4th game in six days on Monday?
That is a different animal altogether, so we will have to wait and see how they hold up. It was nice to see the young players play well on opening night and help the team come away with a win. But with Edmundson and now Matheson out long term, these young blue liners are really going to be put to the test in the coming days and weeks.
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