Mike Matheson

Last Season

Seven goals and 37 points in 78 games, plus-nine, on 24:10 a night — the heaviest workload on the roster. He spent 65 percent of his five-on-five time with Dobson.

The Finesse Game

The skating is genuinely excellent and it is the reason he can play these minutes at thirty-two. He escapes forechecks by carrying the puck out himself, joins rushes as a fourth man, and recovers when the play turns because he is faster than most of the forwards chasing him.

He handles the puck a great deal — sometimes more than a coach would like. The turnovers that come with it are the price of a defenceman who refuses to just rim it, and on a team this young that willingness has been worth having.

The shot is decent from the point and not a weapon.

The Physical Game

Six-two and 196, and he defends with feet rather than force. He is not going to clear the front of a net against a heavy centre, and he does not initiate contact when a stick will do.

He plays enormous minutes and has been durable through them, which for a defenceman of this style is not guaranteed.

The Intangibles

He was a solid but unremarkable player for a decade and then became a genuine top-pairing defenceman in his thirties, largely because a rebuilding club gave him the minutes nobody else was ready for.

Those minutes are now being claimed by younger players. What he is over the next two seasons is a very good second-pairing defenceman, which is both a demotion and the correct use of him.