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Eight years at $7.25 million (per season) for Hronek: what does that mean for Matheson and Guhle?

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 02: Look on Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson (8) during warm-up before the Florida Panthers versus the Montreal Canadiens game on April 02, 2024, at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

Filip Hronek has broken the bank.

The Canucks defenseman – who enjoyed a fine 23-24 season – signed an eight-year contract with Vancouver on Tuesday evening, a deal that will pay him $7.25 million per season.

He’s part of the solution in Vancouver, after all, and management has made sure to retain his services for the long term.

If there’s one person who should be happy to see this deal , it’s Mike Matheson.

We’re talking about two offensive defensemen who scored a lot of points last season.

Hronek finished the year with five goals and 48 points…

While the Canadiens’ defenseman had his best season ever with 62 points in 82 games.

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So I ask: if Hronek is worth $7.25 million, how much is Matheson worth?

There’s a nuance to this, because Matheson is 30 and Hronek is 26.

That’s quite a discrepancy, but Matheson still scored 14 more points than the Canucks’ fullback in 23-24.

As a reminder, the Quebecer’s contract expires in two years… and he earns an annual salary of $4.875 million.

He has one of the best contracts in the National League, and he’ll want to be paid what he’s worth in the summer of 2026 if he continues to rack up the points he’s been racking up since arriving in Montreal. His next contract will be shorter than Hronek’s because Matheson will be older at the end of his current deal, but we can expect it to be similar in terms of salary.

But one also wonders what this means for Kaiden Guhle, who should (also) sign a big contract by next summer.

Guhle has a more defensive style and doesn’t collect offensive success like Hronek or Matheson, but he’s proven (even at 22) that he’ll play for a long time on a top-4 National League team.

All this to say that the market for defensemen is heating up because he’s got guys who’ve signed big contracts in recent months.

Filip Hronek, Jake Sanderson, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, Rasmus Dahlin…

Will Matheson and Guhle be next on the list?

One thing’s for sure, Kent Hughes must be gnashing his teeth right now…

Overtime

– Where will he play next year?

– They look like babies!

– Whew.

– Absolutely.