Mike Matheson spent two seasons as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And both were productive.<\/p>\n
But they were strange.<\/p>\n
Each of them occurred in the early part of this decade when much of the world was disjointed because of the pandemic.<\/p>\n
And as it pertained to the world of professional hockey, that entailed a brief 56-game schedule during the 2020-21 season (which only took place once the calendar flipped to 2021) and the 2021-22 campaign, which had a league-wide suspension of play near Christmas because of rising covid-19 infections.<\/p>\n
And beyond life on the ice, life in general was abnormal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I kind of missed out of some of the cool parts of being a Penguin \u2014 handing out season tickets and stuff like that,\u201d Matheson said. \u201cI feel like I got to live a good amount of that stuff but still missed out on some.\u201d<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t mean Matheson doesn\u2019t treasure his time in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was great,\u201d Matheson said. \u201cMy first son (Hudson) was born here. So, it\u2019s always a really special place. We miss it for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The left-handed defenseman arrived in Pittsburgh during the early stages of the pandemic. In September of 2020, with the NHL\u2019s so-called \u201cbubble playoffs\u201d being staged in Canada, the Penguins, who were eliminated in the opening round, got a jump-start on their offseason, which took place that fall.<\/p>\n
One of their maneuvers was to acquire Matheson and reserve forward Colton Sceviour from the Florida Panthers in exchange for popular power forward Patric Hornqvist.<\/p>\n
Though the trade wasn\u2019t immediately popular in Pittsburgh \u2014 Hornqvist was a beloved member of the Penguins\u2019 Stanley Cup championship teams in 2016 and 2017 \u2014 it represented a badly needed course correction for Matheson, a first-round draft pick (No. 23 overall) in 2012 who never lived up to expectations in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n
In his first season with the Penguins, Matheson largely skated on a pairing with Cody Ceci and helped the Penguins top the NHL\u2019s temporary East Division \u2014 born out of pandemic-related realities \u2014 by posting 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in 44 games.<\/p>\n
pic.twitter.com\/eLrnQuISOF<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 EN Videos (@ENVideos19) October 2, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Then in 2021-22, Matheson\u2019s game really took off as he generated what was then a career-best 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in 74 contests while primarily skating with defenseman Chad Ruwhedel.<\/p>\n This wraparound goal from Mike Matheson MUST BE DISCUSSED.<\/p>\n Contribute your thoughts below \u2b07\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/874wF18a9M<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 24, 2021<\/a> <\/p>\n \u201cHe played great for us,\u201d Penguins forward Sidney Crosby said. \u201cA great guy. Cares a lot. Really committed. His game just continues to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n What changed for him in Pittsburgh?<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest thing was confidence,\u201d Matheson said. \u201cThe last couple of years in Florida, I pretty much lost my confidence completely. It was amazing working (with Penguins coaches) to get it back.\u201d<\/p>\n Matheson did not come back for a third season after he was part of a busy day of trades for the Penguins during the 2022 offseason.<\/p>\n On July 16, former Penguins general manager Ron Hextall enacted a plan to rebuild the team\u2019s blue line in the hopes of making it stiffer defensively. The step in that pursuit saw defenseman John Marino dealt to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Ty Smith and a draft pick in the early afternoon.<\/p>\n A few hours later, Matheson was on the move as he was sent to the Montreal Canadiens along with a draft pick in exchange for defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Ryan Poehling.<\/p>\n That day stunned Matheson.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got traded away from here, I was not expecting it whatsoever,\u201d Matheson said. \u201cI really thought I was going to be here for a long time and wanted to integrate myself into the community. \u2026 Because we (including wife Emily) really did love it here. We bought a house here. We were ready to put some roots down here.<\/p>\n \u201cI was at my buddy\u2019s wedding (in San Diego),\u201d Matheson said. \u201cThen, the John Marino trade happened and we got a defenseman back. I was talking to my wife: \u201cThere\u2019s been a few years where it\u2019s been a little up and down and who knows what\u2019s going to happen? But it\u2019s nice to be settled down finally,\u201d \u2026 and I got a call a half an hour later. So, I got comfortable, too comfortable, for a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Today, Matheson is comfortable as a key member of the rising Canadiens. Serving as an alternate captain for the past four seasons, Matheson helped Montreal reach the Eastern Conference final last season, the franchise\u2019s first trip that deep into the postseason since 2021.<\/p>\n Montreal goal!<\/p>\n Scored by Mike Matheson with 04:32 remaining in the 1st period.<\/p>\n Assisted by Ivan Demidov and Jake Evans.<\/p>\n Montreal: 1
Carolina: 1#CARvsMTL<\/a> #GoHabsGo<\/a> #SoundTheSiren<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/i9qhfvluOA<\/a><\/p>\n