Stu's Slapshots: Canadiens' Mike Matheson shattering his sticks at $400 a pop

Mike Matheson’s father, Rod, must be happy he doesn’t have to buy his son’s hockey sticks anymore.

The Canadiens defenceman broke three sticks during Wednesday night’s 3-2 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell Centre. The third stick broke during the final minute of overtime when Matheson was set up by Cole Caufield for a one-timer with a great chance to end the game and the stick snapped in half. A frustated Matheson threw the piece of stick left in his hand away in disgust.

Thankfully for the Canadiens and Matheson, Caufield was able to score the winning goal in the shootout. Otherwise, Matheson’s third broken stick could have cost the Canadiens a point in the standings.

Matheson uses a Warrior Covert QR6 Pro stick, which sells for about $400. NHL teams pay for their players’ sticks, even if a player has an endorsement deal with a company, like Matheson does with Warrior.

Matheson didn’t want to talk much about his broken sticks after practice Friday in Brossard, instead wanting to focus on how well the Canadiens played Wednesday night and an important game against the Maple Leafs on Saturday in Toronto (7 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).

“It’s frustrating,” Matheson said about the broken sticks. “We’re playing important games and that’s where my head’s at.”

Has he ever broken three sticks before in the same game?

“Not that I remember, no,” Matheson said, adding it was just a fluke thing.

The Canadiens’ Brendan Gallagher also uses a Warrior Covert QR6 Pro stick.

“I was ready to make a call (to Warrior),” Gallagher said with a chuckle after Friday’s practice. “We can laugh about it today. But I felt his frustration. Maybe get him a new batch.”

While growing up on Montreal’s West Island, Matheson said he played with wood sticks until he reached the bantam level. His two older siblings — sister Kelly and brother Kenny — also played hockey and all three went through the hockey Sport-études program at John Rennie High School. Their parents definitely spent a few bucks on hockey sticks over the years.

“I remember one time it happened where we kind of splurged for a couple of sticks that were the new one-piece sticks and my brother and I broke both of ours in our first game,” Matheson recalled. “Three hundred dollars down the drain, or whatever it was.”

Bad break for Dobson

Canadiens defenceman Noah Dobson can relate to what happened with Matheson’s stick during overtime Wednesday night.

While playing for Team Canada at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship in Vancouver, Dobson had his stick snap in half with an open net staring him in the face during overtime of a quarter-final game against Finland with the score tied 1-1. After the missed opportunity, the Finns went the other way with the puck and less than 10 seconds later scored the winning goal that eliminated Team Canada. Finland went on to win the gold medal, beating Team USA in the final.

“It was tough,” Dobson recalled after practice Friday. “It was just more disappointing in the result of ending that way. Canada in the world juniors has such high expectations every year and to lose in the quarter-finals and lose that way on Canadian soil, everything added up. It was difficult, especially for the week after, you’re upset and the tournament’s still going on and you’re heading home.

“But it’s part of the game,” Dobson added. “It’s not something I could really control. So you take it with a grain of salt and move forward.”

PAMA Hockey, a company in Finland that makes hockey sticks, had some fun with Dobson after the world junior championship and shipped one of their sticks to his family’s home in Summerside, P.E.I., along with a letter that read:

Dear Noah!

We at PAMA Hockey feel sorry that your equipment gave up on you at the worst possible moment.

We know how polite the Canadians are, so we want to give you this Finnish hockey stick, PAMA PHX Carbon as a gift for a great hockey game. We hope the best for you in your upcoming career.

Sincerely

Antti-Jussi Tiitola

PAMA Hockey

Finland

Dobson can laugh about it now and said he thinks that stick is still somewhere at his family’s house.

NHL stick budgets are expensive

With the Canadiens, Dobson now uses a Bauer Vapor FLYLITE stick, which sells for about $440.

“It’s kind of a fluke thing, it’s a weird thing,” Dobson said about Matheson breaking three sticks in the same game. “I find it usually happens to the same guy over and over. I remember last year (when he was with the New York Islanders) Brock Nelson was breaking his stick on the faceoff almost every other one. It’s like an anomaly, honestly. It is what it is.

“I think guys are always looking to get better and if they feel like their sticks are not doing it for them they’ll make changes,” Dobson added. “But it was just kind of a fluky thing.”

Dobson said he uses a new stick every game and reuses the game sticks in practice.

“I honestly never really ask,” Dobson chuckled when asked how many sticks he uses during a season. “I’m scared to ask the trainers. It’s one of those things where you kind of just let it sit.”

He figures he goes through about 100 sticks a season, but knows of other players who use close to 400.

Minute muncher

Matheson leads the Canadiens in ice time with an average of 24:46 per game, which ranks ninth in the NHL. The 31-year-old logged a season-high 29:25 in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Nov. 17.

I asked Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis after Friday’s practice if there’s a maximum amount of ice time he keeps in mind for Matheson during a game.

“I think it depends on the game,” St. Louis said. “But we’re trying to find pockets during games where we can lighten the load a little bit. We know he can log minutes and we got to be careful of just knowing that we know that.”

Matheson is in fantastic shape and is an effortless skater, which allows him to play so many minutes. It’s also a reason the Canadiens signed him last week to a five-year, US$30-million contract extension that kicks in next season.

Since the start of the 2023-24 season no player in the NHL has logged more ice time than Matheson with 4,745 minutes. Minnesota Wild defenceman Brock Faber ranks second with 4,719, followed by Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar with 4,644.

I asked Matheson after Friday’s practice if he’s aware how many minutes he is logging while the game is going on.

“A little bit,” he said. “I think you can kind of sense it a little bit. But there are games where I feel like I played more and I didn’t — and there’s some where I feel I didn’t play as much and I actually come back and it’s 29 (minutes). It just depends.”

Billy Matheson?

Matheson was a guest this week and was asked how he got the nickname “Billy” from the movie Billy Madison, starring Adam Sandler.

“This started when I was in Florida,” Matheson said. “Remember Mike Hoffman called me Billy and it never stuck at all in Florida. So, obviously, it’s because of Billy Madison — like Mike Matheson — and it never stuck in Florida. He brought it here in Montreal (when Hoffman joined the Canadiens) and all the young guys thought it was hilarious, so that’s been it ever since.”

I asked Brendan Gallagher, now in his 14th season with the Canadiens, what’s the best nickname he remembers a teammate having.

“I always liked Tuna (for Tomas Tatar),” Gallagher said. “We didn’t give it to him, but I always thought that was a good nickname. Billy’s a good one.”

Tomas Holmstrom gave Tatar the Tuna nickname when they were teammates with the Detroit Red Wings.

Xhekaj growing into to his role — Part 1

St. Louis no longer needs to talk with defenceman Arber Xhekaj about when he should or shouldn’t drop the gloves and fight.

During last Tuesday’s 5-2 loss to Ottawa at the Bell Centre, Senators tough-guy Kurtis MacDermid kept trying to get Xhekaj to fight him. The 6-foot-5, 233-pound MacDermid is one of the few players left in the NHL who is there for basically one reason — he can fight. MacDermid has only dressed for nine games this season, has no points and 16 penalty minutes, and logged only 2:58 of ice time against the Canadiens. He is averaging 4:16 of ice time this season.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Xhekaj was smart not to engage with MacDermid while logging 12:48 of ice time himself. Losing Xhekaj for five minutes after a fighting penalty and leaving the Canadiens with five defencemen during that span wouldn’t have been a smart trade-off to fight a guy who almost never gets on the ice and wouldn’t be missed while sitting in the penalty box.

“I think two, three years ago, I would have these conversations with Aber,” St. Louis said after the game against the Senators. “I think he’s figured it out. I trust him.”

Xhekaj admitted it was tough not to get “sucked in” by MacDermid.

“You want to (fight him) … you don’t want him to be asking you and you shy away and then people are going to start speculating,” Xhekaj said. “Honestly, if he were to do something — throw a big hit or something — I’d be there. But if he’s not going to do anything … maybe I could have done it in the second (period) when he tried to hit me to get the team going a little bit. But you got to be smart.

“He’s there for one reason,” Xhekaj added. “If you go with him you’re falling right into his hands and making him useful for the team. He’s got a tough job, too. I respect that. If he were to do something, it would give me more of a reason to protect my guys.”

Xhekaj growing into to his role — Part 2

During the first period of Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg, Xhekaj didn’t hesitate in dropping the gloves to fight Jets captain Adam Lowry after he threw a big bodycheck on Canadiens defenceman Alexandre Carrier.

“I was probably going to ask Lowry if he wanted one (fight) early in the game because they’re kind of going through a tough stint and so are we a little bit,” Xhekaj said after that game. “I feel like it was the right time to ask him. That was my first shift against him and he threw a hit. It’s a clean hit. I’m not going to challenge guys after clean hits like that, but I thought it was the right time. He kind of looked at me right away. He wanted one (fight) to spark his team and same for me. It was the perfect time there.

“I respect Lowry’s game,” Xhekaj added about the 6-foot-5, 210-pound Jets captain who averages 14:05 of ice time a game . “He plays a great game. He didn’t have to take that fight, but he kind of knew where his team was at and I knew where mine was. I didn’t even have to say anything. He just looked back and it was like: ‘Let’s go, bro!’ He’s a guy who plays a hard game, but he follows The Code really well. He’s a good guy.”

Xhekaj won the fight with Lowry after losing two of his three previous fights against Tanner Jeannot of the Boston Bruins and Nicolas Deslauriers of the Philadelphia Flyers.

“It’s big,” Xhekaj said about winning the fight with Lowry. “When you lose a couple of fights you start thinking too much. Have I lost it? What’s going on? But I’m pretty mentally strong. I think that kind of helps with the fighting role. But it definitely helps to have a good one tonight.”

Xhekaj said he appreciates the fact he has earned the trust of St. Louis when it comes to his role.

“We’re at the point where he kind of lets me go by my judgment,” Xhekaj said. “I know what the team needs and what we don’t. It’s a tough job, but you got to do it.”

It really is a tough role

Being a fighter in the NHL is, indeed, a tough job.

“I can’t imagine,” Matheson said when asked about the role Xhekaj plays with the Canadiens. “I think it’s very difficult. I try to be there for him and try to think ahead of what he might be thinking a little bit and try to help him with that. I can imagine it’s got to be difficult. It’s a whole kind of different game that he’s preparing for and it could easily become a distraction to the actual hockey game that he has to play and I think he handles it really well.”

St. Louis said he was really impressed with the way Xhekaj played the last two games, giving him quality minutes. Xhekaj had 12:48 of ice time against the Senators and 13:41 against the Jets. He is averaging 11:52 for the season.

St. Louis added the more quality minutes Xhekaj can provide, the more quantity of minutes he will get.

“The fighting is his business,” St. Louis said. “It’s not an easy job, but he does a good job.”

I asked Xhekaj what’s the toughest part of his job?

“You got to be ready for it, for sure,” he said. “You got to be ready at all times. It’s just like I’m a guy who plays hard and I know that he (an opposing tough guy) plays hard, too. If they have another guy on the other side who plays that heavy game I know that if he does something I got to be there for my team and, vice versa, if I do something he’s got to be there for his team. I’ve gotten a lot better at just playing and then if something happens, it happens. It helps more (with fighting), I think, if you think about it a lot. But then your game slides because you’re just thinking about the fighting aspect. I find personally I do better (fighting) when I’m thinking about the fighting, locked in and zoned in on what I’m going to do. But then I can’t play my game. So I found just leave the fighting thing alone. Play the game and get into the game and everything will be fine.”

“I wouldn’t say it’s my entire game, but I’d say it’s still a big part of who I am, and as much as people say: ‘He doesn’t have to fight,’ I think it just helps me out,” Xhekaj added. “Gets me in the game. It’s kind of something that I still have pride in and it gives me space on the ice and kind of lets everyone know on the other side if you’re going to do something I’ll probably be there. I got to keep that in my game, for sure.”

A brief taste of NHL life

Xhekaj’s brother, Florian, was sent back down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket after being made a healthy scratch for Wednesday’s game against the Jets. In five games with the Canadiens, Florian had one assist and one fight with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Dakota Mermis.

Florian had a chance to make his first NHL road trip with the Canadiens on charter flights to Utah, Las Vegas and Colorado.

Apart from the hockey, what was the coolest part of the road trip?

“I think Vegas,” Florian said before he was sent back to Laval. “Me, (Jared) Davidson and (Adam) Engstrom, we walked down the strip for a little bit after practice. It was pretty cool to see that. The whole lifestyle is pretty insane. It’s just like a dream you’re living in kind of.”

Now, Florian — and Engstrom — are back to riding the bus for road games with Laval.

“I think the longest one we have is Cleveland … it’s like 12 hours or something,” Florian said about the bus trips. “It’s not fun.”

Xhekaj scored two goals and added an assist in the Rocket’s 5-2 road win over the Belleville Senators on Friday night, giving him 4-3-7 totals in 14 games with Laval this season. The Rocket are in first place in the North Division with a 16-6-0 record.

Trending up

Cole Caufield: He extended his point streak to nine games by picking up an assist against the Jets and also scored the winning goal in the shootout. In the last nine games Caufield has 2-9-11 totals.

Nick Suzuki: The captain extended his point streak to seven games with an assist against the Jets. He has 4-6-10 totals in the last seven games.

Power play: The Canadiens’ power play is 6-for-10 over the last five games, improving to 26.4 per cent for the season, which ranks fourth in the NHL.

Trending down

Jake Evans: The defensive-minded centre is a team-worst minus-15. He was minus-3 in Tuesday’s loss to the Senators and found himself benched, finishing the game with a season-low 9:22 of ice time.

Samuel Montembeault: The Canadiens have won only one of the last six games he has played in goal, during which he has a .855 save percentage. He appears to have lost his No. 1 job to Jakub Dobes, who will make his second straight start Saturday night in Toronto.

Jared Davidson: He has yet to register a point in six games since getting called up from the Rocket and was made a healthy scratch for three consecutive games before playing against the Jets.

And finally …

Saturday marks the 30th anniversary of the Canadiens trading goalie Patrick Roy to the Colorado Avalanche, along with captain Mike Keane, in exchange for forwards Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky and goalie Jocelyn Thibault.

It was the beginning of a long downfall for the Canadiens.

The trade came four days after head coach Mario Tremblay left Roy in net for nine goals before finally pulling him midway through the second period of an 11-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at the Forum. After leaving the ice, Roy spoke with team president Ronald Corey, who was sitting behind the bench, telling him he had played his last game with the Canadiens.

“I’m happy today,” Roy told reporters after the trade was made. “It’s going to be different. The last week has been like a roller-coaster. I was really disappointed Saturday night, but now I’m happy today. Bob Sauvé (Roy’s agent) told me I had to be ready to go anywhere and I was — but the Avalanche was my first choice.”

Roy would help the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup that season and he won another Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001.

The Canadiens won their last two Stanley Cups — in 1986 and 1993 — with Roy in goal.

scowan@postmedia.com

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