TORONTO — Fair to call him enigmatic? At present, some Florida Panthers fans might simply refer to him as a disaster.
Instead of being a steady top-4 D-man, reflecting his long-term nearly $5-million a-year contract, Mike Matheson sat out his second straight qualifying series game Friday against the New York Islanders.
His recent log looked like this — Game 1 (2-1 loss): 2 PIM, 1 hit, 1 blocked shot in 11:32; Game 2 (4-2 loss): 6 PIM, 1 hit, 1 blocked shot in 14:54.
The league had him down for four giveaways in Game 2.
Of course there was his carnage. He knocked Isles D-man Johnny Boychuk out of the series with a high hit in Game 1.
The illegal hit to the head penalty was initially ruled a five-minute major but was downgraded upon review.
Had it stood, he would have been tossed.
Regardless, Anthony Beauvillier scored the game-winning goal on the ensuing power play.
In Game 2 he got the stick up on Brock Nelson for a 4-minute double minor at 6:18 of the first period. His teammates killed it off.
Matheson was fined $2,500 by the NHL for the infraction.
End of the day, it was all enough for Coach Q; it was bye-bye Mikey for the third and fourth games of the series. That was all it took for the Panthers to lose the series.
In an ideal world, or one that at least reaches reasonable expectations, Matheson would have been a positive influence and a contributing factor offensively.
He has been known for his skating ability since his days as an elite prospect, leading up to being a first-round pick for Florida in 2012.
In a pessimist world, fans can start looking at that cap hit as very tradeable, especially considering Matheson has a modified no-trade cause kicking in after next season.
Nothing too crazy, he’d be eligible to submit an eight-team no-trade list.
There are at least a dozen NHL GM’s who would be very interested in the 26-year-old at his money, especially considering his occasional flashes of flair and the fact this may be all about environment.
Maybe Matheson is just presently reflecting the team-wide aura?
A lack of energy, the underperformance of the roster on paper, especially on the backend, and a vibe that is enigmatic in its own right.
Add to it the news that Dale Tallon has been ousted as GM, one has to wonder what the hell is next.
It’s a ownership group that often seems to get in its own way and/or put its foot in its mouth over the last few years. Another step in that direction.
We’ve heard the jokes the last two weeks: the Panthers are used to playing in front of no fans, and the Leafs are used to playing in front of fans this quiet. Ha ha.
If it were true it didn’t help the South Floridians and it hasn’t helped the Torontonians so far either.
For optimists, the roster gets improved in the off-season, by whomever is running the show in Fort Lauderdale, and Matheson and the boys bounce back.
Right now that’s a difficult scenario to imagine.