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Matheson Accidentally Causes Subban To Habs Frenzy; Capitals Weekend Wrap

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2 years ago

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Capitals links, Matheson

As NHL free agency continues, the Washington Capitals and the rest of the NHL are getting closer to the start of the 2022-23 names. And, as teams prepare for the season, some top names remain on the market, looking for new deals.

One top player still without a contract: P.K. Subban. The 33-year-old blueliner is a UFA following his tenure with the New Jersey Devils, where his numbers took a dip and he struggled to maintain his superstar status.

On Saturday, though, two words would lead many to think that Subban was headed back to the city where it all began. The Montreal Canadiens‘ official Twitter account tweeted out “guess who,” leading to a trend and multiple people speculating that the Toronto native signed to return to Quebec, a place where he became a fan favorite. However, it was far from that.

In fact, it wasn’t a signing, but a Twitter takeover from another defenseman: new Canadiens blueliner Mike Matheson, who came over from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Jeff Petry trade.

Even though he didn’t mean to make a splash, he made the most of the Twitter takeover, and the 28-year-old also had a wholesome moment showing his son how to walk across the Montreal dressing room.

Here are all the latest news and notes and takeaways from this weekend:

Capitals Links

  • Nicklas Backstrom celebrated another milestone on Saturday, marrying Liza Berg in Sweden with several teammates in attendance. (WHN)
  • Capitals defensive prospect Vincent Iorio is turning into a puck mover and insists he is ready to make the jump to the pros this season and exceed expectations. (WHN)
  • Ilya Samsonov‘s tenure in D.C. didn’t end on a highly positive note, but he had nothing but good things to say about the team in his goodbye tribute. (WHN)
  • Meanwhile, Washington’s roster overhaul was the biggest in the Eastern Conference. (AP)

NHL Links

  • “You can crawl into the fetal position and suck your thumb, or you can deal with it.” Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving managed to bring in another 100-point scorer in Jonathan Huberdeau for Matthew Tkachuk, but the team’s future remains uncertain.
  • Speaking of Tkachuk, he would have been a perfect match for the Philadelphia Flyers, who remain without a star heading into the new season. (PHN)
  • The Detroit Red Wings are starting to look a lot like top contenders in the Atlantic Division… (DHN)
  • And on the topic of Matheson, who will be the Canadiens‘ No. 1 blueliner in 2022-23? (MHN)

Sammi’s Top Shelf Takes

  • Trevor van Riemsdyk turns 31 today, and the blueliner is still becoming an X-factor on the Capitals’ blue line. He has come in clutch time and time again, and as he returns to his natural right side in 2022-23, expect him to only get stronger.
  • Several Washington teammates made it to Backstrom’s wedding, including Carl Hagelin, John Carlson, T.J. Oshie, Lars Eller and Marcus Johansson. Both Backstrom and Hagelin are on the IR.
  • The Capitals, meanwhile, are still in the process of finding a new assistant coach and are interviewing. One former player I’d love to see behind the bench: Brooks Orpik. Batya would be great. Speaking of Orpik, four years ago today, he signed his final NHL deal, a one-year, $1 million contract to close out his career in D.C.
  • Beyond Subban, other UFAs still without a home: Phil Kessel, Nazem Kadri, John Klingberg… the list goes on.
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