The Montreal Canadiens agreed to terms with defenseman Mike Matheson on a five-year contract extension worth $6 million a season, the team announced Friday.

Matheson, who will turn 32 on Feb. 27, is in the final year of an eight-year contract worth $4.875 million a season, a contract signed with the Florida Panthers that was negotiated by Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes when he represented Matheson as his agent.

The Canadiens have agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension (2026-27 to 2030-31) with defenseman Mike Matheson

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Matheson has 14 points in 22 games with a team-best plus-13 rating heading into the Canadiens’ game Friday afternoon against the Vegas Golden Knights. He leads the team in time on ice per game (24:50) and leads the NHL in short-handed time on ice per game (4:12).

Matheson has been paired with big offseason acquisition Noah Dobson on the Canadiens’ top pair all season, and the two have faced the most difficult opposition on the team.

As recently as a month ago, Matheson stated there was no news on his contract status, there were no talks ongoing and he was trying to focus on his game. However, things can change quickly.

Matheson, a native of suburban Pointe-Claire, Quebec, has consistently stated his desire to stay in his hometown of Montreal. The $6 million AAV on the contract could easily be seen as a discount considering Matheson’s role with the Canadiens, the minutes he eats and the difficulty of those minutes. That kind of player profile can often fetch more on the open market, especially under the current environment of exploding salaries under a continuously rising salary cap.

The trade-off was the five-year term, but Matheson is known as the best-conditioned player on the team, and his skating remains at an elite level. Matheson also got the added security of a full no-movement clause for the first three years of the contract and limited no-trade protection in the last two years. For Matheson, this was no small thing, especially considering how reticent this administration has been to hand out full trade protection.

While five years might seem like a risk for most 32-year-olds, Matheson is not most 32-year-olds, and at a $6 million AAV, this contract risks aging quite well.