Mathieu on being traded from Atlanta

I highly recommend that you check out Scott Burnside's article over at ESPN.com. One of the things he talks about this week is how it isn't necessarily true that players are anxious to get out of Long Island, Atlanta, or St. Louis. He has a lot of comment from Mathieu, whom Burnside says "will almost certainly be on the move again by March 4." Despite the bad year, and the horrible place in the standings, Mathieu isn't excited at the possibility to be traded so soon after coming to Atlanta.

One reason he would miss the team in Atlanta? Zach Bogosian.

"A big part of the reason I'm here is to work with [rookie] Zach Bogosian, and that's been an awful lot of fun for me. He's just a tremendous kid, and I've really enjoyed it and I would certainly miss him if I was traded"

As for the constant rumors, Mathieu still says he blocks out as much as he can. He's obviously been around this a long time, and he prefers to focus on the game, and take things one day at a time. So if he doesn't focus on the rumors, how does hear about them?

"All the speculation is fun. Honestly, I don't read any of it, to tell you the truth. Everything I hear is pretty much from my father-in-law in Toronto."