1st-pairing minutes in playoffs could turn into permanent Penguins role for Mike Matheson
The final week of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ season featured defenseman Mike Matheson in a top-pairing role and averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game.
Could that be a sign of more permanent things to come?
Matheson’s prominent role for the final six games of the Penguins’ playoffs series against the New York Rangers was borne out of circumstance related to an injury to Brian Dumoulin. But with Kris Letang set to hit unrestricted free agency, as the roster stands currently with players under contract for next season, Matheson is the team’s No. 1 defenseman.
A lot can happen between now and the opening of training camp, but Matheson wouldn’t shy away for a starring role in the Penguins defense corps.
“You definitely notice a big different between, say, 18, 19, 20 minutes (average per game) and 25 or 26,” Matheson said last week, two days after the Penguins’ Game 7 overtime loss to the New York Rangers. “There’s a big difference there physically. And I think that’s when I am at my best, and I think that’s the case for anybody.
“When you’re playing a lot, you’re in the moment, you’re getting a lot of touches, you don’t have time to go back to the bench and kind of think about that shift. You are back there and really just paying off your instincts, so I think that’s my favorite way to play and I think that’s when I am at my best.”
Mike Matheson evaluating his 2021-22 season, sounds as if he considers it the best of his career pic.twitter.com/IfKBtyHhPG
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 17, 2022
After a regular season during which Matheson set career highs in goals (11), assists (20), points (31) and plus/minus rating (plus-12), his average ice time jumped from 18 minutes, 48 seconds per game in the regular season to 25:12 per game in the playoffs.
While that figure is inflated, in part, because of the three overtimes in Game 1, Matheson averaged 23:01 over Games 2-6 after Dumoulin suffered a torn MCL. Matheson, a left-handed shot, took over Dumoulin’s role as the left-side defenseman on the top pairing alongside Letang.
Letang’s 16-year tenure with the Penguins could be coming to an end, although it is possible — even likely — the organization takes some of his vacated salary-cap space to bring in a replacement as the No. 1 defenseman. But as a former first-round pick who has few equals among NHL defensemen in skating and hands, Matheson long ago had been projected as a No. 1 defenseman. The eight-year, $39 million contract the Florida Panthers gave him in 2018 suggests as much.
In 2021-22, Matheson showed the most tangible signs of his talents yet. Playing largely on the Penguins’ second pairing, Matheson produced by far the best possession metrics of any of his six full NHL seasons (the past two with the Penguins since arriving in the 2020 Patric Hornqvist trade).
“Numbers wise, it was the best year of my career,” Matheson said. “And aside from numbers, I was happy with the way I played overall, and I think I made some good strides in my game in a lot of areas. I think I still have lot of ways to go and a lot of areas to continue to improve on, so that’s exciting for the future.”
"He’s the type of guy who is going to do everything that he can for his teammates."
On Mike Matheson becoming one of the Penguins' most dependable players:https://t.co/3VzVgS1fzZ
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) April 18, 2022
The 28-year-old Matheson said he grew up looking up to Letang, 35. If Letang moves on, Matheson sounds as if he is ready and willing to pick up some slack in the areas of intangibles and leadership.
“The job that the guys who have been here before have done of building that environment and expectation has been incredible and well-deserved by what they’ve done, and that’s what’s been contagious,” Matheson said. “It’s an expectation of what it means to be Penguin and putting on the jersey and an expectation of what that means going into every single practice and every game.
“And for myself, I think that’s something for me to take on responsibility as somebody that’s been here for a couple years now and to maybe take over the reins a little bit more and help with that instead of being a follower. Try to set an example with that in mind.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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