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When A Routine Player Teleconference Shocks You...

October 10, 2017, 4:02 PM ET [5 Comments]
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT


Something tells me Mike Matheson jersey sales are going to go way up.

Florida GM Dale Tallon added another piece to the blossoming core in signing Matheson to an 8-year, $39 million extension last weekend.

The talented, smooth-skating defenseman was the 23rd overall pick out of Boston College in the 2012 NHL Draft and has proved himself to be the smart, reliable player the Panthers need on the blue line.

When talks began Tallon started at 2 years. Then it went to 4, 6, and then Matheson said "why not make it 8? I want to be a Panther." That in itself is amazing. Those that know the history of this organization understand this club has often been a stepping stone for players to eventually thrive elsewhere or a place where old players get ready to retire.

Ownership's desire to make this a place that players want to come to is becoming reality, and Matheson is a prime example. He now joins Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Nick Bjugstad, Aaron Ekblad, Keith Yandle, Roberto Luongo, and James Reimer as core players signed 4 or more years with the Panthers.

When the teleconference started, obviously the theme was talking to Matheson about the extension and what it means to him. Admittedly I was coming from a different direction during the call and was focusing more on what got him here(conditioning) and the systems now being implemented by new head coach Bob Boughner and staff that he is excited about as he starts this new deal.

The Panthers are loaded with really approachable, genuinely nice players. Most players in the NHL are extremely humble and gracious with the media. Matheson, however, is at another level of nice. He will talk to you as long as you want. He speaks his mind and is genuinely interested in you at the same time.

As he was giving several great Matheson-like answers on the call, someone asked him the great question on if he felt like he may have left some money on the table by signing such a long-term deal at that salary.

His answer below blew us away.

"I really hope my career gets to the point where maybe I am worth a bit more. But if I am starting to turn around and think I should be getting paid more money to do something I love every single day then shame on me. Because at the end of the day that means I am helping my team as much as I can and it leaves room for them to go after better players to surround everyone else with."

Wow.

In this narcissistic, greedy world of "me, me, me" and "show me the money," Matheson shocked us with what I will deem from here as "The Answer." An answer that is opposite of almost every other athlete and agent's intentions/mindset.

It was so refreshing it was startling. That in itself is sad because it is an indictment of society today, but Panther fans should consider themselves lucky to have a player that is as self-aware and grounded as he is talented.

Matheson will continue to grow and log lots of minutes as he develops his game. He has only 86 games played in the NHL.

"He's going to skate, carry the puck and log a lot of minutes for us for a long time," said Tallon. "He's going to be invaluable. He's going to play in every situation."

Tallon likely is looking for him to be a young, tougher Brian Campbell-type player. With Boughner and Co. tutelage Matheson should be a bargain throughout his deal.

Not that he cares about that, and that is the amazing, respectable part of all.

Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Media
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