If he was "expansion fodder", why give him two years?
The big problem is that Mason is the more superior goaltender based on their Philadelphia history.
Hes also the more physically reliable goaltender.
And if you want to say that Neuvy isnt the headcase that Mason is... well, even as a more mentally stable athlete, he still falls short of Mason.
I like Neuvy but i think if any goalie deserved an extension, it was probably the one who is a top goalie in team history
Vegas takes one of Howard/Fleury, Anti Raanta and a younger goalie for the minors. I don't see Neuvirth being even a consideration for LV.
Those two have NTC/NMCs and need to be protected or am I missing something?
Or do you mean they will trade for one of them in advance...
Would Vegas even take Stolarz? Is he really worth running Mase out of town?
If they didn't sign Neuvirth or Mason they would have to leave Stolarz unprotected. Las Vegas is going to take the best goalie they can, a solid backup, and a guy with upside that is youngish but experienced. That 3rd one is Stolarz. Hexy doesn't want to lose him. They signed Neuvirth because hes the one they want to expose of the 3. I think he still wants Mason and they are protecting him via Free Agency. Las Vegas cannot "pick" Mason if he's UFA at the end of the season. They have a 3 day window to sign Free Agents before everybody else can but the player has to choose to sign there. You tell Mase "Hey you are our guy in the future, but we want to keep Stolie too, we fully intend to sign you once Free Agency opens up"
As much as I would prefer Mason over Neuvirth, I can't see the Flyers coming out with a win resigning Mason in any scenario. It would be more palatable if LV takes Neuvirth but in either case Mason can reasonably expect to get a raise for resigning. How could Hextall justify giving Neuvirth a raise after this really bad season and then low-ball Mason, who has been more reliable over the longer term? And does anyone want Mason at $5 million (ballpark) for multiple years?
If the point of it is to keep Mason youre not running him out of town?
And I think they value Stolarz. And I think hes the type of prospect Vegas would be looking at. Hes young has excelled in the AHL and already has some NHL experience.
And what's so conspiracy about it? One of these guys was going to get signed before the end of the year. Because if not then you'd have to leave Stolarz unprotected, who is your most NHL ready goalie prospect AND both of your Starter and Backup in the NHL are UFAs to be. So what if they both walked and Vegas claimed Stolarz? That would be an atrocity.
If its for 2 years sure. I wouldnt want him signed any longer than that unless its at a discount no
So there's what Murray, Ranta, Darling, Grubauer, Reimer and Howard with strong numbers and we think Mase would be taken if he was resigned? Yet we hope it's Neuvi who gets taken over these names and it's not even because of his performance, but because of some familiarity from the past? I wouldn't hold my breath.
So there's what Murray, Ranta, Darling, Grubauer, Reimer and Howard with strong numbers and we think Mase would be taken if he was resigned? Yet we hope it's Neuvi who gets taken over these names and it's not even because of his performance, but because of some familiarity from the past? I wouldn't hold my breath.
There are two ways of looking at this, I guess.
The first follows Occam's Razor - they signed Neuvy because they see him as the starter next year, and the benefit of the signing is that we can protect Stolie.
The other is this master plan by Hexy to circumvent the expansion draft and sign Mase after the ED - figuring that LV won't take Neuvy, we tread water and head into next season with the same duo as this season, hoping for a rebound x 2.
The latter seems kind of like a conspiracy theory to me, but I guess it's possible.
You aren't understanding what I'm saying. The point is to protect Stolarz, who is probably likely to be claimed if left exposed. Look at what we have to offer other than him if he is left exposed, add on top of that that he would be valuable to a brand new franchise for reasons stated above. Add even more to that our own uncertainty going into the future if we did not sign Neuvirth and then subsequently protect Stolarz in the ED. Neuvirth is signed to be exposed in the ED. I doubt he get's claimed but he is there so that we don't have to expose the only Goalie prospect in the system who is anywhere close to being ready. It's up in the air if we can sign Mase or not to a reasonable deal, but you can't afford to lose all 3.
Why loose anyone? Protect Stolarz, sign Mase, have LV take more attractive goalie, like Raanta or Darling and bid adieu to Neuvirth.
I am not following your logic. How do the Flyers lose Neuvirth if Raanta or Darling are selected? Are you saying that Raanta/Darling AND Neuvirth would be taken by LV?