Penguins A to Z: Can Mike Matheson ever live up to his contract?

With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Mike Matheson

Position: Defenseman

Shoots: Left

Age: 27

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 188 pounds

2020-21 NHL statistics: 44 games, 16 points (five goals, 11 assists)

Contract: Third year of an eight-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4.875 million. Pending restricted free agent in 2026.

(Note: Beginning in the 2021-22 season, this contract contains a modified no-trade clause that allows Matheson to submit a list of eight teams he will not accept a trade to.)

Acquired: Trade, Sept. 24, 2020

2020-21 season: Just based on the person he was traded for, Mike Matheson was always going to be fighting an uphill battle for acceptance in Pittsburgh.

Patric Hornqvist was a wildly popular power forward whose style of play made him easy to root for as he played a vital role in two Stanley Cup championships.

And his nickname is “Horny.”

When the Penguins traded for him, Matheson was already the target of scorn simply because he wasn’t Hornqvist.

Plus, there was the matter of his monster of a contract. Signed in 2017 as a member of the Florida Panthers, Matheson’s deal was under heavy scrutiny from the get-go.

He did little to sway public opinion when the 2020-21 season opened.

In the Penguins’ season-opener, a 6-3 road loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 13, Matheson lost a one-on-one battle in front of his own cage on a sequence that led to the Flyers’ first goal.

Two nights later, during a 5-2 road loss to the Flyers, Matheson suffered an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for eight games.

Back in the lineup by Feb. 6, Matheson and partner Cody Ceci, each of whom did not have the luxury of a true training camp to adjust to their new surroundings, eventually took over as the second defensive pairing, supplanting John Marino and Marcus Pettersson.

By late February, Matheson, now more comfortable with the Penguins’ systems, began to show the skating ability and puck skills that prompted management to trade for him.

Matheson’s most productive stretch of the season came between March 24 and April 24 when he posted 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in 16 games.

On May 1, Matheson’s regular season came to an abrupt ending as he was struck in the face on a clearing attempt by goaltender Tristan Jarry. An undisclosed injured sidelined him for the Penguins’ final four games before the opening of the postseason.

Matheson returned to the lineup for the opening of the postseason, wearing protection on his face. During the Penguins’ first-round loss to the New York Islanders, Matheson appeared in six games and did not record a point.

The future: While the Penguins were largely satisfied with Matheson’s play this past season, management would not be terribly upset if it could find a way to be free of his behemoth of a contract.

With regards to this month’s expansion draft, Matheson likely won’t be protected, but it’s difficult to see the Seattle Kraken opting to select a player in his late 20s that has that much term remaining.

So, assuming Matheson is back for the 2021-22 season, he’ll likely resume his role on the Penguins’ second pairing and get the occasional deployment with the second power-play unit.

A first-round pick of the Panthers in 2012 (No. 23 overall), Matheson failed to live up to his potential in Florida. As a member of the Penguins, under assistant coach Todd Reirden, Matheson began to harness his skills.

He still has a ways to go before he can truly start to live up to the expectations of his contract, but Matheson took a step in the right direction in 2020-21.

Follow the Penguins all season long.