The future of Steve Mason

[JacketsDavid]

What are thoughts on a Bob/McElhinney combo for next year?

No offense to the BOB fans on the board but no flipping way.

We need a legit #1 goalie. That's not BOB right now. Even if UFA ranks are thin then make a trade.

 

[Roadman]

No offense to the BOB fans on the board but no flipping way.

We need a legit #1 goalie. That's not BOB right now. Even if UFA ranks are thin then make a trade.

And if you're not making the money you want at your job, just go get another one.

Easy, nothing to it.

 

[LetsGOJackets!!]

Winner Winner Chicken dinner

I don't see the logic in just dumping him outright. There's no other goalie in the system who's immediately ready, and there's not a backup who's clearly NHL-caliber on a full-season basis.

Right now, the only NHL goalies under 30 who will be UFAs after this year are Jimmy Howard (who won't hit free agency anyway) and Anton Khudobin. Unloading Mason and then banking on bagging one of those two isn't the most logical thing I can think of.

Undoubtedly when Howson came on board, he wanted to move Nikolai Zherdev quickly. Instead, he had to wait a full year for his value to increase, then actually get something in return. Had he simply made the move at first, it likely wouldn't have been much of anything.

This is the appropriate view of the player situation. Mason is still very young. He has had some amazing streaks in his career, and he has had some very severe periods of lacking concentration. Losing can do that to a players psyche. The day management can get through his head that he had **** in front of him & didn't need to bear the whole burden himself is the day he will turn his career around. A Good Will Hunting moment is required, call in Robin Williams.

Mean while the assignine fans that want to kick our assets to the curb need to find better negotiating strategies. I recommend the "Art of the Deal"

 

[pete goegan]

This is the appropriate view of the player situation. Mason is still very young. He has had some amazing streaks in his career, and he has had some very severe periods of lacking concentration. Losing can do that to a players psyche. The day management can get through his head that he had **** in front of him & didn't need to bear the whole burden himself is the day he will turn his career around. A Good Will Hunting moment is required, call in Robin Williams.

Mean while the assignine fans that want to kick our assets to the curb need to find better negotiating strategies. I recommend the "Art of the Deal"

It seems to me that his problem has not been that he has taken too much of the blame on himself, but, in fact, just the opposite. As to his future, I have no clue.

 

[blahblah]

Mean while the assignine fans that want to kick our assets to the curb need to find better negotiating strategies. I recommend the "Art of the Deal"

First thing is there is, generally, a misconception on what an asset is. For example, your house generally isn't an asset enough you'll hear constantly that it is. In the dictionary definition is it, but it is really a liability.

Is Mason an asset? I would argue that there isn't much of a market for him at this time. Is his performance worth 2.9 million? Is he helping sell tickets, jerseys. etc? Is he helping us win? His 2-4 record despite his "improving play" suggests otherwise.

Is anyone going to bring Mason is as their starter? Will they trust him as a backup?

So my question is, are you worried about that conditional 5th round pick that you might be able to get for him in the off season if things continue as they are now?

I'm not suggesting we kick him to the curb at this point. He should have been buried in Springfield a long time ago to try and save his career as a Jacket. No one was going to claim him off waivers with all that cash left on his contract. If they did, was that 7th round pick at the time worth 2.9 million+ (notice how I'm showing his value slightly increasing)?

 

[LaTenderness*]

Mase will have a big weekend and everyone will be back aboard his jockstrap

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised by those thinking that Mason has a future in Columbus.

There is no way that JD & JK aren't going to "turn the page" on this problem. His contract is expiring in a few months. They don't even have to do anything. They just let nature take its course and allow Steve to seek his riches in free agency. LOL

Bobrovski is your "bridge goalie" for the next few seasons if need be. He was adequate in Philly and he'll be adequate here. There will be ample opportunity to secure a reasonable back up from the list of UFAs to back him up.

Mason hasn't been adequate for so long that it's only Howson's ineptitude that spared him from the minors. Mason doesn't have a front office sugar daddy any more. He's going to be subjected to the Law of the Jungle. And he will be eaten.

 

[Xoggz22]

This is the appropriate view of the player situation. Mason is still very young. He has had some amazing streaks in his career, and he has had some very severe periods of lacking concentration. Losing can do that to a players psyche. The day management can get through his head that he had **** in front of him & didn't need to bear the whole burden himself is the day he will turn his career around. A Good Will Hunting moment is required, call in Robin Williams.

Mean while the assignine fans that want to kick our assets to the curb need to find better negotiating strategies. I recommend the "Art of the Deal"

It's only an asset if it(they) provides value. Kicking to the curb is over simplification and implies wasting value. I don't think MAson is a waste of space (some do and I could see why) but I'm not foolish enough to think he offers value to retain. Move him before you have to qualify him.

Personally, I don't want to dump Mason just because he's Mason but in no way, shape or form do I want to pay him $3.2MM at a minimum a possibly more depending on the qualification rules in the CBA. Retaining him at those levels seem ludicrous to me but what do I know? (Some will surely answer... not much )

For any of you who think he's performed at a level that dictates he should be retained at his current salary, I propose you revisit business 101.

 

[cslebn]

Just a note; Bob is an RFA next year too, but he's only making 1.75 m currently. York is RFA as well at .95m

The UFA market is quite unimpressive (Backstrom, Howard, Thomas are probably the headlines) with Rask and Neuvirth leading the RFAs. Very unimpressive. Lots of back-ups available.

For us to improve we're going to have to make a trade or hope that someone young (Bob, Neuvirth, etc) can step up.

 

[Xoggz22]

First thing is there is, generally, a misconception on what an asset is. For example, your house generally isn't an asset enough you'll hear constantly that it is. In the dictionary definition is it, but it is really a liability.

Is Mason an asset? I would argue that there isn't much of a market for him at this time. Is his performance worth 2.9 million? Is he helping sell tickets, jerseys. etc? Is he helping us win? His 2-4 record despite his "improving play" suggests otherwise.

Is anyone going to bring Mason is as their starter? Will they trust him as a backup?

So my question is, are you worried about that conditional 5th round pick that you might be able to get for him in the off season if things continue as they are now?

I'm not suggesting we kick him to the curb at this point. He should have been buried in Springfield a long time ago to try and save his career as a Jacket. No one was going to claim him off waivers with all that cash left on his contract. If they did, was that 7th round pick at the time worth 2.9 million+ (notice how I'm showing his value slightly increasing)?

To pile on, Blahblah points out his cap value, not what we are paying him. Add another $300K in actual salary. I believe that's where we would need to qualify him at a minimum.

 

[Xoggz22]

I fully believe that either Mason OR Bob would be capable of being part of a CBJ winner. HOwever, without some additional offense to make the transition game go the CBJ will not become a winner consistently. Our #1G may not even be on the roster or in the minors at this point. It very well could be Forsberg, Dansk, Korpisalo or even Fucale.

 

[LetsGOJackets!!]

Steve Mason has so much experience at such a young age:

NHL Hockey: Top 10 Goaltenders Under the Age of 25
BY RYAN ZEDMORE (CONTRIBUTOR) ON MAY 1, 2011 1,947 reads 4
Previous 5 of 11 Next
7: Steve Mason
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Steven Mason exploded into the NHL in 2008 with a Calder-winning season. The goalie turned heads with a stunning rookie campaign, earning 33 wins and a remarkable 2.29 GAA. After 2008-2009, it was tough to find someone who didn’t believe that Mason was a star in the making, but then his sophomore season hit.

In the two seasons since his rookie year, Mason has been somewhat average with nearly two identical seasons (3.05 GAA and 20 wins in 2009-2010 and 3.03 GAA and 24 wins in 2010-2011). The potential is still exists, but Mason is falling fast on this list.

As a fan base we are impatient as hell, by comparison has Montreal given up on Price, or LA Bernier, not hardly.

 

[JacketsDavid]

it's amazing comparing a team like Pittsburgh to Columbus. Pittsburgh gives up a 7th round pick to get a guy like Vokoun and is only paying him $2M per year for 2 years. In a shortened season like this year you need 2 goalies and he is playing great hockey.
That is the kind of guy we need next season - a guy who can be either a 1A or 1B. The Penguins have 2 guys that can win every night in goal, the CBJ doesn't have 1.

 

[cslebn]

it's amazing comparing a team like Pittsburgh to Columbus. Pittsburgh gives up a 7th round pick to get a guy like Vokoun and is only paying him $2M per year for 2 years. In a shortened season like this year you need 2 goalies and he is playing great hockey.
That is the kind of guy we need next season - a guy who can be either a 1A or 1B. The Penguins have 2 guys that can win every night in goal, the CBJ doesn't have 1.

Yeah but Vokoun is an exception tot he rule. He signed low to win a cup being the backup.

That said I agree that CBJ doesn't have either a 1A or B right now. Bob and Mason just can't steal games for us.

 

[brianhatesu]

I have not seen a Pens game but I'm just guessing that having some forwards that can keep the puck out of their zone probably helps their numbers more than it hurts them.

And I don't believe we should be counting on a goalie to steal games for us every night, how about looking for a team that can win games every night.

 

[cslebn]

Not every night true, but 1 out of 10 would be nice rather than having the team wondering how many times they need to score to stay in the game.

 

[CBJx614]

Am I the only one who thinks our goaltending is fine? We need to jump start our offense. It will relieve pressure in our defensive zone, and then if mason and bobrovsky are still letting in the same goals we need to start thinking about new goaltending, but not now.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Am I the only one who thinks our goaltending is fine? We need to jump start our offense. It will relieve pressure in our defensive zone, and then if mason and bobrovsky are still letting in the same goals we need to start thinking about new goaltending, but not now.

There is no "one thing" that is "wrong" with this team, that you can isolate and say "There's your problem."

 

[Kev22]

My answer to the future of Steve Mason....I frankly don't care anymore. He's clearly shown that he's not an NHL #1 goalie over the past two seasons. He's mentally soft, doesn't have a short memory and is a pariah in the room. If you're trying to create a winning culture, there is no place for players that have the checkered past like Mason.

 

[blahblah]

Am I the only one who thinks our goaltending is fine? We need to jump start our offense. It will relieve pressure in our defensive zone, and then if mason and bobrovsky are still letting in the same goals we need to start thinking about new goaltending, but not now.

I would have to say that our goal tending really isn't "fine". Sure we expose them, but rushes and mistakes are not uncommon in the NHL. The difference is, on good teams the goal tending will make more big stops.

We have really started to play more in other teams zone and we are starting to really get the shots against down. The fore check is starting to really come around. A lot of the opposing teams goals appear to be more of the rush than from sustained pressure.

I'm not sure if I can agree with most of your points. There is some truth to it, but probably not the degree that you are making it out to be. At least not with the games this month.

 

[CBJx614]

I just don't feel our goaltending is the reason we are losing. Did they miss some saves they should have? Yes. But they've also made some they shouldn't. I just feel this is not the season to move or worry about goaltending. Go into the offseason focused on improving offense, and if a deal comes across that moves a goaltender that we can't resist I wouldn't be against it. I feel Bob is our guy going forward.

 

[KeithBWhittington]

The biggest problem right now with goaltending in this organization is a lack of Stability. That feeling that any one bad period can lead to a complete collapse of confidence in net strictly due to the last few seasons both goaltenders have endured and the fact that we have no "reasonable" third option that can step into the crease at the NHL level right now for any extended period of time.

It can be remedied with time and continued "decent" play from them, but right now, it still rests on the mental side of the position. And I don't think its something that can be remedied without time if you're intent on sticking with these two guys.

That said, too much time to fix it is something that cost this organization dearly the last three seasons.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

My answer to the future of Steve Mason....I frankly don't care anymore. He's clearly shown that he's not an NHL #1 goalie over the past two seasons. He's mentally soft, doesn't have a short memory and is a pariah in the room. If you're trying to create a winning culture, there is no place for players that have the checkered past like Mason.

Period. End of story.

See ya, Steve. It's been real. Real bad. For a real long time. The new management team is a serious group. Going forward with Steve Mason is not a possibility for a serious group committed to winning.

 

[KeithBWhittington]

Period. End of story.

See ya, Steve. It's been real. Real bad. For a real long time. The new management team is a serious group. Going forward with Steve Mason is not a possibility for a serious group committed to winning.

.....To be written in pen in the lineup again and have another contract for him on the books.... agree.

 

[CBJx614]

I just hope (not crossing my fingers) that one of our kids in the system can help us out in the next few years