Should the Flyers re-sign Mason?

[brelic]

Interesting if superficial discussion on Hockeybuzz about whether or not the Flyers should re-sign Mason.

 

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/HockeyBuzz-Hotstove/Should-the-Philadelphia-Flyers-re-sign-Steve-Mason/187/81474

 

Todd Cordell

 

I'd re-sign Steve Mason without thinking twice.

 

His counting totals aren't great this year but he has been one of the best goalies in the league since becoming a Flyer and I'm confident he will bounce back in the 2nd half.

 

Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Mason owns a .931 save percentage at 5v5. That ties him with Devan Dubnyk for 4th among 27 eligible goaltenders, putting him behind only Carey Price, Tuukka Rask and Corey Crawford.

 

Despite the excellent numbers he has posted, his perceived value doesn't seem overly high. The Flyers could surely re-up him at a very reasonable price, which is a lot more preferable than overpaying for someone like Ben Bishop in the off-season.

 

John Jaeckel

 

Look elsewhere.

 

Steve Mason is a nice kid, with a good attitude, who works hard. So was Cristobal Huet. And Huet was probably a better goaltender. 

 

Mason, like Huet and a lot of similar goalies, can get in a good groove and put some extended solid play together. But he has long periods where he can't stop a beach ball. The goal in the NHL is to win the Stanley Cup, and you need a goaltender who can either get you there or at least won't hold you back. The Flyers have some of the pieces to build around. Mason is way too unreliable and inconsistent to be one of them.

 

James Tanner

The Flyers should definitely resign Mason. He is one of the best goalies in the NHL and re-signing him should be a no-brainer. 

 

For whatever reason, Mason hasn't gotten himself the reputation other goalies have, and he is really underrated. If you go to dispellingvoodoo.com and play around with the goalie charts, you can see it for yourself. 

 

He's not Price or Lundqvist, but for the last three years he has better overall stats than Dubnyk, and he destroys the rapidly declining Rinne. 

One interesting stat is that Mason has had more 'above average appearances' than Price over the last three seasons. 

 

Price, Lundqvist, and Schneider are the best in the league, but Mason isn't far back. He's above average and only 28. Re-signing him should be the Flyers top priority at the moment.

[radoran]

Jaekel's opinion is fine as far as it goes - which isn't very far.

 

If they don't sign Mason, who DO they sign? That's the $6M question.

 

Until there's an answer to that - I'd resign Mason.

[hf101]

The next 6M question then becomes.....  If you sign Mason the Flyers cannot give him a no trade / no movement clause as they will then have to expose Stolarz.  

 

I would think moving forward the plan will be to protect Stolarz from the expansion draft.  If this is the case then it really doesn't matter if they sign him and expose him.  Or let him go into expansion as a free agent.  Either way it will be up to the Golden Knights and Mason to determine his fate imo. 

[intheslot]

I'd say let him go and resign  Nerv...(sp)  and they have  Stoli.. as the back up   

 saving big dollars ..

 

[AJgoal]

11 minutes ago, intheslot said:

I'd say let him go and resign  Nerv...(sp)  and they have  Stoli.. as the back up   

 saving big dollars ..

 

 

That sounds like the Bob Clarke school of GMing.

 

Mason for 2-3 years to allow the farmhands to develop and duke it out.

[radoran]

I like Stolarz fine, but he hasn't done anything yet (no, a shutout to help my FHL team doesn't count).

 

The "core" of this team - Giroux, Simmonds, Voracek - are 27/28. If they're not going TO START competing in a serious manner for the playoffs and the Cup for another 2-3 years, what's their realistic window after that?

 

This team doesn't need magic beans, they need to start seriously competing. And, no offense, Stolarz just isn't it - whether that'she "yet" or "at all" isn't really material.

 

If they want to reset to build around the young D and Konecny, etc. then fine. But let's not then pretend that the VeeGees are going to be part of a Cup experience.

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I said no to re-signing Mason. I like Mason, I really do. But at the same time, the consistent slow starts to the year and his mental game not being up to snuff when he gets challenged, I just think that maybe it's time to move on. The other thing that really worries me about Mason is that some nights he's lights out and some nights, he's really fighting the puck. It's almost as if he can't keep himself focused on the task at hand.

 

Some aren't sure whether Stolarz is ready or not, but it's hard to know when the coach hasn't really given him a chance to prove whether he can play or not. Two years of junior, two years plus of AHL hockey and it's a question now of how much more time does Stolarz need to prove himself? It's time for a baptism by fire.

 

Don't forget that with the expansion draft coming, there's going to be a lot of teams who are going to be looking to deal netminders so they don't lose a guy for free. I think if Hextall's smart, he can take advantage of this and parlay a trade that will only cost the team pennies on the dollar.

 

If Hextall decides that Mason is the best option, then so be it. He's the GM of the team and he's paid to make those sorts of decisions. With that being said, I just don't think Mason is a Stanley Cup caliber goaltender who can carry a team to the promised land. A good goaltender, yes, but not a great goaltender and that's what this club needs - great.

[Howie58]

I think part of the question would be salary. If Mase wants 5-6 million, I say no. if it is within the 4 or thereabouts range...maybe.  He has not shown himself to be a wartime (playoff) consigliere.  The development of the youngins is another factor.  Neuvy may be too injury prone to be part of the equation.  

[NRH]

When is he going to start winning shootouts?

[AlaskaFlyerFan]

41 minutes ago, NRH said:

When is he going to start winning shootouts?

 

Flyers are 3-3 in shootouts this year.  Mason is 2-3 in the shootout.  If the boys would put the puck in the net on the other end then Mason wouldn't have to win the shootout.  The shooters would win it for him.

[PhilsFanDrew]

If I'm Hextall and the Flyers front office I have a number in terms of dollars and years in mind for Mason but if he wants more dollars and/or years I'm not budging.  You can certainly do worse than Steve Mason but I think you could perhaps have someone as good or potentially better in a couple years under team control waiting in the wings.  I don't see Mason as the long term answer for this team that Hextall is building to be competitive for  a number of runs.  

[NRH]

27 minutes ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

If I'm Hextall and the Flyers front office I have a number in terms of dollars and years in mind for Mason but if he wants more dollars and/or years I'm not budging.  You can certainly do worse than Steve Mason but I think you could perhaps have someone as good or potentially better in a couple years under team control waiting in the wings.  I don't see Mason as the long term answer for this team that Hextall is building to be competitive for  a number of runs.  

 

Most long term answers for goaltending don't pan out anyways.

[radoran]

I have no problem going for a better option. But that was my question in the first place - what's the other "great" option?

 

I can get behind an alternative I just don't see Stolarz as "great" - realizing he hasn't had a real chance yet.

 

But taking a "chance" isn't my first choice. I have no problem giving Stolarz more looks but, again, if we're looking at "a couple of years" before they're seriously looking at competing, Giroux, Simmonds and Voracek are all 30. It's not the end of the world, but the window is certainly smaller and the team won't have done much with them.

 

I see Mason as above average. 

 

I also concur that if he's looking for $6M+ that sours the situation somewhat, especially for a long term deal.

[OccamsRazor]

A 3 year deal for Mason would be nice. Around 4-5 mill per and no NTC or NMC in there.

[PhilsFanDrew]

3 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

A 3 year deal for Mason would be nice. Around 4-5 mill per and no NTC or NMC in there.

 

I would be fine with that deal, however, my guess is Mason will command and get more.  So then it really comes down to if the Flyers want to be the team that meets his demands or if they let him walk.  I'm on the side that if he wants more than 3 years, $15 million you let him test FA and start looking at other options.   

[Bertmega]

Cristobal Huet? Did I read that right? Is he still alive? 

 

Jaeckel must have a time machine or something. 

[radoran]

The question really is between whether the team believes that someone they have in the system is a rock solid choice; whether they can make a trade for a better option ; or whether they think that Steve Mason - at 28 arguably in the prime of his career for the next 3-4 years (just like Giroux, Voracek and Simmonds) - is worth a foundational building slot for this group to make a serious run.

 

This team's built to make a run in the next 2-3 years with at least 11 players singed for the next three (G, V, S, Schenn, Couturier, Konecny, Gudas, Provorov, Weise, Raffl and MacDud - OK, so 10 ) and all but the RFAs (Konecny, Provorov), Simmonds and Raffl for four.  Every one of those guys is 28 or younger. For many of them this is their time.

 

I would think they would try to bridge deal Gotstobehere. He's one of five RFAs on the current roster (Stolarz/Lyubimov/Cousins/Leier). Add in a couple of Morin/Sanheim/Leier/whoever and/or a "solid veteran" (the list of pending UFA LWs is even thinner than last year's). Keep Bellemare around?

 

Trades/FAs:

anybody want to give up something to get 32-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury for two more at $5.75M? Jimmy Howard? kari Lehtfourin? Antti Niemi?

Other UFA options? 30-year-old Ben Bishop. 36-year-old Ryan Miller You could take either of Calgary's goalies. Robin Lehner.

 

Yes, I just named the last three starting goaltenders for the Buffalo Sabres.

 

Anntti Raantaa? Scott Darling? Darcy Kuemper? Peter Budaj? Ondrej Pavelec? Other guys with j's and/or a ridiculous number of vowels?

 

Are we getting excited yet?

 

What else is out there, really?

 

To sign Mason for $5M with the idea that they can protect Stolarz is to mean you're going to be playing Stolarz as I think Vegas snaps that up. Likely then re-sign UFA Stolarz for $1M (which will probably happen anyway) in some sort of tandem with Neuvirth, maybe even with Neuvirth being signed in the current "Steve Mason" range of $4M for 3-4 years.

 

And that's a perfectly plausible and worthwhile direction - if they want to take it.

 

You like that better than Mason?

 

I don't think he's Ken Dryden or anything*. I am far from his biggest fan. But I do think he's capable of putting together a Finals playoff run. This team has been largely built together and has played together.

 

To that end, I might just be riding the "devil I know" in this situation - and Stolarz will more than likely still be around as I expect there to be more valuable pieces on the Flyers exposed list (hello, Sean Couturier! .).

 

Well see where they go. 

 

 

 

 

* Oh look, there's our old friend Sergei Bobrovsky leading the league in wins, 6th in GAA, 7th in SV%. Anybody recall that the Flyers are still paying Ilya Bryzgalov $1.6M a year? And Homer left because of the Weber offer...

[King Knut]

Sorta depends on the amount and the duration, but if it's similar to what he's getting now and for 3 years or so, I say yes.  

[King Knut]

19 hours ago, AJgoal said:

 

That sounds like the Bob Clarke school of GMing.

 

Mason for 2-3 years to allow the farmhands to develop and duke it out.

 

I think this is going to get discussed below, but while I agree with your thinking, I think  Mason might get snatched up by Vegas at that.  Depends on what his cap hit is.

[King Knut]

5 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

A 3 year deal for Mason would be nice. Around 4-5 mill per and no NTC or NMC in there.

 

Or they could just let Vegas sign him outright in Free Agency

[King Knut]

1 hour ago, PhilsFanDrew said:

 

I would be fine with that deal, however, my guess is Mason will command and get more.  So then it really comes down to if the Flyers want to be the team that meets his demands or if they let him walk.  I'm on the side that if he wants more than 3 years, $15 million you let him test FA and start looking at other options.   

 

Who is going to give Mason more in UFA?  

 

As well as Mason has been lately, most teams have someone consistently seen as better.  Not that Mason's bad, but he's not elite and he's not suddenly going to become Elite.  

 

There are crappy teams out there that need goalies, but will Mase want to sign in someplace like Carolina just to get his butt whoooped every night?    

 

I guess if they're literally offering twice as much money, he'll have to consider it... I just don't see that kind of money being thrown at him.  

 

Homer will need to sign SOMEONE before the Vegas draft (or alternatively expose Stolarz) I'd see if I could get Mason to stay in town for a medium stretch at around what he's making.  

 

There actually look to be a lot of possible deals for goalies between now and the deadline, then again between the end of the season and the Vegas draft.  (i.e. see my other long protracted thread:  

But please note that I acknowledge some of this is off because apparently modified NTC's might not count as NMC's so guys like Jimmy Howard and Marc Andre Fleury might in fact be exposable.  

 

 

[RJ8812]

5 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

A 3 year deal for Mason would be nice. Around 4-5 mill per and no NTC or NMC in there.

 

Mason is not going to sign for that little. He should get around $5.5-6m for 3 years

 

There really isn't better options out there. Neuvirth gets injured every season, so I would not trust him as our #1. Stolarz simply isn't ready (if he ever will be). 

[King Knut]

21 hours ago, brelic said:

Interesting if superficial discussion on Hockeybuzz about whether or not the Flyers should re-sign Mason.

 

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/HockeyBuzz-Hotstove/Should-the-Philadelphia-Flyers-re-sign-Steve-Mason/187/81474

 

Todd Cordell

 

I'd re-sign Steve Mason without thinking twice.

 

His counting totals aren't great this year but he has been one of the best goalies in the league since becoming a Flyer and I'm confident he will bounce back in the 2nd half.

 

Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, Mason owns a .931 save percentage at 5v5. That ties him with Devan Dubnyk for 4th among 27 eligible goaltenders, putting him behind only Carey Price, Tuukka Rask and Corey Crawford.

 

Despite the excellent numbers he has posted, his perceived value doesn't seem overly high. The Flyers could surely re-up him at a very reasonable price, which is a lot more preferable than overpaying for someone like Ben Bishop in the off-season.

 

John Jaeckel

 

Look elsewhere.

 

Steve Mason is a nice kid, with a good attitude, who works hard. So was Cristobal Huet. And Huet was probably a better goaltender. 

 

Mason, like Huet and a lot of similar goalies, can get in a good groove and put some extended solid play together. But he has long periods where he can't stop a beach ball. The goal in the NHL is to win the Stanley Cup, and you need a goaltender who can either get you there or at least won't hold you back. The Flyers have some of the pieces to build around. Mason is way too unreliable and inconsistent to be one of them.

 

James Tanner

The Flyers should definitely resign Mason. He is one of the best goalies in the NHL and re-signing him should be a no-brainer. 

 

For whatever reason, Mason hasn't gotten himself the reputation other goalies have, and he is really underrated. If you go to dispellingvoodoo.com and play around with the goalie charts, you can see it for yourself. 

 

He's not Price or Lundqvist, but for the last three years he has better overall stats than Dubnyk, and he destroys the rapidly declining Rinne. 

One interesting stat is that Mason has had more 'above average appearances' than Price over the last three seasons. 

 

Price, Lundqvist, and Schneider are the best in the league, but Mason isn't far back. He's above average and only 28. Re-signing him should be the Flyers top priority at the moment.

 

I wish he would have destroyed the Rapidly declining Rinne last night.  Pekka decided to have himself a game on us.  

[elmatus]

Is this assuming Stolarz would get picked up by Vegas? I don't think he would really. That said, unless he finds some other goalie somewhere, Hex does need to sign and expose one goalie. My guess is Mason will be resigned and protected, and they'll roll the dice on Stolarz.

 

I just have a hard time thinking Vegas will be looking for unproven goalies, when there will be a good 2-3 who do have NHL experience and who will likely be available to them. At best, Stolarz could be considered a third goalie and prospect, but I think there are better options around the league for that as well (Subban comes to mind). I think if the plan was to possibly go with Stolarz moving forward, he would be seeing more ice time. That could change of course. If Stolarz sees an uptick in ice time, that could be a sign Mason is on the move.

 

That said, I'm not high on Mason. I won't cry if we lose him somehow. I don't think he's a bad goalie. I do think he's an NHL goalie. I just don't think he's a guy who will steal too many games. Every year, goalies stealing playoff games are integral to deep runs. I just don't see Mason being that guy.

[Podein25]

11 minutes ago, elmatus said:

I just have a hard time thinking Vegas will be looking for unproven goalies, when there will be a good 2-3 who do have NHL experience and who will likely be available to them

 

I'd be gobsmacked if Vegas took Stollie. Lots of other, better options out there.