logo
FlamesNation has no direct affiliation to the Calgary Flames, Calgary Sports and Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
NHL Notebook: Canadiens extend Mike Matheson
alt
Photo credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ryley Delaney
Nov 28, 2025, 15:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 28, 2025, 13:36 EST
Comments
The Montréal Canadiens have made a litany of moves.
On Friday morning, the team announced that it had signed defenceman Mike Matheson to a five-year extension with an annual cap hit of $6 million.
Matheson found his way to the Canadiens during the summer of 2022, and the Canadiens acquired him and a 2023 fourth-round pick in exchange for Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling. He immediately began to put up career-best seasons, scoring eight goals and 34 points in 48 games during the 2022-23 season.
The following year, Matheson matched his career high in goals, 11, while picking up 51 assists for 62 points. His production halved in 2024-25, scoring six goals and 31 points in 80 games, but he’s scored four goals and 14 points in 22 games this season.
On Nov. 23, it was reported that the Original Six team signed forward Alexandre Texier to a one-year deal after his contract was terminated by the St. Louis Blues. Four days later, it was reported that the Canadiens re-claimed Sammy Blais off waivers.
Texier, born in Grenoble, France, was drafted 45th overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2017. His rookie season was in 2019-20, where he scored six goals and 13 points, followed by four goals and 15 points in 49 games during the 2020-21 season. The left wing reached the double-digit goal mark for the first time in 2021-22, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 36 games before spending the entire 2022-23 season in Switzerland.
In Texier’s final season with the Blue Jackets, he scored a career-high 12 goals and 30 points in 78 games, signing with the Blues in the off-season. The 2024-25 season saw him score six goals and 11 points in 31 games, while playing just eight games before his contract termination.
Blais is also a former Blue, winning the Stanley Cup with the team in 2019. After parts of four seasons with the team, he was traded to the Rangers. He played parts of two seasons with the Rangers before being traded back to the Blues ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.
Blais spent all of the 2024-25 season with the Calder Cup-winning Abbotsford Canucks, scoring 14 goals and 40 points in 51 regular season games, with six goals and 19 points in 23 post-season games. In the off-season, he signed with the Canadiens, but was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he scored a goal and three points in eight games.

Alexander Romanov out five to six months

The New York Islanders will be without one of their defencemen, as last Sunday, the team announced that Alex Romanov will be out for 5-6 months due to shoulder surgery.
The injury occurred late in the Islanders’ 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars on Nov. 18 as Mikko Rantanen dangerously boarded the defender and received a five-minute major. Two games later, Rantanen received another five-minute major for boarding, this time the infraction came against Calgary Flames’ forward Matt Coronato.
Because Rantanen received two five-minute majors in the same week, he was automatically suspended for a game, missing the Stars’ 8-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. Romanov, 25, has reached the 20-point mark over the last three seasons, including scoring a career-high seven goals with the Islanders in 2023-24.

Alexandar Georgiev signs two-year deal in KHL

The first Bulgarian-born National Hockey League player has departed the NHL, as Alexandar Georgiev has signed a two-year deal with the Kontinental Hockey League’s Spartak Moscow.
This will be the first time the 29-year-old netminder has played in the KHL, but he played his youth hockey in Russia before moving to Finland to play for TPS. He joined the New York Rangers for the 2017-18 season and had several successful seasons there as the team’s backup.
Georgiev was traded to the Colorado Avalanche ahead of the 2022-23 season and posted a .919 save percentage and 2.51 goals against average in 62 games. His play took a hit the following season, owning an .897 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average in 63 games.
The netminder declined from 2022-23 to 2023-24, but his play fell off a cliff in 2024-25. In 18 games with the Avalanche, the 29-year-old posted an .874 save percentage and 3.38 goals against average in 18 games before being traded to the San Jose Sharks in the package that brought Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche. Georgiev wasn’t much better with the Sharks.
Before the season, Georgiev signed with the Buffalo Sabres, but played just two games with the American Hockey League team before his contract was terminated.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.
Sponsored by bet365:

Editorials

Breaking News