With the Montreal Canadiens near the bottom of the standings entering the home stretch of the hockey season, there hasn’t been too much for fans to celebrate this year.
One undeniable success story, however, has been that of defenceman Mike Matheson.
After dealing with some early injury trouble, the West Island native has been named co-recipient of the Molson Cup for the month of February, along with Jake Allen.
“It’s obviously been special,” Matheson said after the Canadiens’ morning skate on Tuesday.
Matheson grew up in Pointe-Claire in Montreal’s West Island, watching Habs games with his hockey-crazed family.
When he was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Jeff Petry trade last July, the chance to don the bleu-blanc-rouge was a dream come true.
“To see my name on the back of the Canadiens jersey, any time I see it, I pinch myself. It’s been a pretty surreal experience,” he said.
There were rough stretches for the 29-year-old as he missed more than 30 games with injury.
“It was tough being out for a while earlier in the year. You never know how things are going to go when you get back,” Matheson said.
Since he’s been healthy, Matheson has emerged as one of the team’s best players.
The defenceman led the Canadiens with eight points in nine games in February, even scoring an overtime winner against the Islanders.
“I’m happy for him, and I think we’re all happy for him. It’s been fun to watch him play,” said fellow defenceman Chris Wideman, who said he had complimented Matheson for his goal in the team’s previous game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Matheson’s strong play has made him co-recipient of February’s Molson Cup, given to players who get the most three-star selections in a particular month.
“He’s basically been carrying the D back there,” said Wideman.
The Habs are entering a tough stretch where they will play a series of strong teams.
“We’ve grown a lot as a team,” said head coach Martin St. Louis. “Here down the stretch we just need to keep hammering the details and the concepts that we’ve been talking about and not let that slip as we’re trying to get to the finish line.”
Even if the going gets tough, Matheson’s teammates know they can rely on him.