According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Canadiens and Mike Matheson have a five year contract extension in place, with an announcement expected as early as today.
Hearing the #GoHabsGo and Mike Matheson have a 5-year contract extension in place. An announcement is expected as early as today.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) November 28, 2025
For a team that has tried to keep these talks private, after the noise around Lane Hutson’s negotiations, this leak is about as close as it gets to a final confirmation that their veteran workhorse is not going anywhere.
Why the Canadiens are committing to a Mike Matheson extension
This sort of commitment has been building for months. Pierre LeBrun previously reported that extending Matheson had become a top priority once the Canadiens locked in long term deals for Lane Hutson, Noah Dobson and Kaiden Guhle.
Internally, Montreal knows Matheson has been playing number one minutes while being paid more like a second or third defenceman. Since arriving in Montreal he has averaged over twenty five minutes a night in all situations, often taking the hardest matchups and heavy penalty kill work while younger teammates are eased in.
The Canadiens and Mike Matheson have made progress on extension talks of late.
Could come to a head earlier today. Heard the term was between 4-5 years.
Announcement could come as early as today.
— Marco D’Amico (@mndamico) November 28, 2025
The 31 year old left shot defenceman has 649 career NHL games under his belt with 78 goals and 279 points, and he continues to drive play at even strength despite losing his spot on the top power play unit.
That combination is not easy to replace, especially on one of the youngest rosters in the league. Matheson is also the lone true veteran on a blue line built around emerging stars, which matters in a market like Montreal where he has handled hometown pressure comfortably.
Unless something dramatic changes before the paperwork is filed, it now looks like the Canadiens’ top four on defence is set for the foreseeable future, with Matheson remaining a central part of what they hope will be the next competitive Habs core.
More to come…
Photo Credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
