I can't take Mason seriously

[fanaticV3.0]

No matter how hot he is at the present moment, the dude always cools off. He started his large career playing really well too and if I remember correctly I think he was the rookie of the year? as recently as last year  some were pushing for his backup to take his job. Hell, before this hot streak and Neuvirth  got hurt, Mason didn't look very good. I can't escape this feeling that it is only a matter of time before he crashes.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Meh...

Steve Mason is what he has always been.... a very streaky goalie capable of some impressive highs and equally depressing lows.

 

The guy is hard to categorize because some days he seems to do well despite not having a particularly good defense in front of him....yet crumbles too when his defense DOES play well in front of him.

 

I've always felt Mason was a GOOD goalie....especially for a team still trying to find their bearings like the Flyers are, but he ISN'T the goalie to take them to the promised land. He just isn't consistent enough to do that. Never has been.

 

Also, listening to some talk on national broadcasts and even on Philly broadcasts, it has been suggested that Mason, perhaps, is not the most MENTALLY tough individual and any success he has is just  a misstep or two away from flipping over and getting into his head to the point where he forgets he was on a hot streak.

 

Given all the messes the Flyers have had (and continue) to deal with, the team could have done worse than have Steve Mason as their goalie.

But if and when Philly is ready to make a real run in the playoffs, I do believe it will have to be with someone other than Mason in net.

[Podein25]

I think threads like this are as much a reflection on Philly sports fans - in particular Flyers fans and their proclivity for running goalies out of town and booing fat men in red suits - as they are about whether Steve Mason is a good goalie or not.

[Bertmega]

 

After year of absolute garbage in net, I'll take Mason any day of the week. 

 

I liked Boucher, but he was ran out of town and the League for awhile. I think had they actually built a team around him, they may have won a cup during the early 2000's. 

 

Roman Cechmanek was you prototypical nut job goalie. He was completely unorthodox and not very technically sound, yet managed to pull out some impressive wins. He clearly was not a goalie to build a team around. 

 

Niittymaki was impressive, but to frail to last in the league. However, I think with a strong defense they could have had something special in him.

 

Burke/Hackett... definition of meh on ice

 

Eshce was one of my favorite goalies of the decade and if not for the lockout, I think he could have continued playoff success from 2004.

 

Biron was a-okay but nothing that will bring you to the promise land. I would put him vastly below Steve Mason.

 

Ray Emery I think gave the team the best shot at a cup that they had in over a decade, but sadly the injury bug got the best of him. Not to mention Peter "run and gun" Laviolette was the HC, which I firmly believe no goalie wants to be behind his "system".

 

Leighton was a complete anomaly that never should have happened. I was a fun ride, but it ended too soon. He was never the answer. 

 

Bobrovsky was probably the best prospect they had in net since Pelle or Ron Hextall, but sadly Paul Holmgren and Laviolette mismanaged that situation. Which brings me to the biggest disaster since the Hindenburg:

 

Ilya Bryzgalov 'nuff said on that space case. 

 

So out of all that, I'd take the current Steve Mason and hope for the best. 

 

 

[OccamsRazor]

1 hour ago, Bertmega said:

Ilya Bryzgalov

 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I really liked Marty Biron. I thought he got a raw deal in Philadelphia, especially when he carried that club on his back and gave them a chance to win. I never understood why Holmgren gave up a 2nd for him and then walked away when his contract was up. Biron was asking for $5 million a year at the time, which was more than fair for a guy of his caliber. Holmgren walked and signed Ray Emery for $1 million and then was forced to acquire Michael Leighton when Emery's hip went on him.

 

As for Mason, he's a good goalie, but as I've mentioned in other posts, he's just so mentally fragile when another goalie challenges him for the top spot and he takes so long to get into a groove when the season starts. If he overcame those two drawbacks, there's no doubt in my mind he'd be an elite goaltender in this league.

[Howie58]

Greetings:

 

Here is what I posted earlier this year.

 

His career is tough to assess. To say it has had ups and downs is an understatement.  I agree with others in this thread that he has been better than some of the other incumbents. But I have to agree with Mike Milbury's assessment last night that consistency has not been a strong suit.  Hexy has drafted a passel of goalies for a reason--our franchise has not done a lot of development in the position...and the few we've developed have gone elsewhere.

[King Knut]

7 hours ago, Podein25 said:

I think threads like this are as much a reflection on Philly sports fans - in particular Flyers fans and their proclivity for running goalies out of town and booing fat men in red suits - as they are about whether Steve Mason is a good goalie or not.

 

To say mason isn't a good goalie is just a little bit silly.  That said I can't figure out why the hell Hak played him against the Devils tonight.  The dude has never beaten the devils and stepped off the ice 19 hours ago.  Stolarz

woukdnhave been playing in front of friends and family in his home state.  Why the hell not give him the start?  

 

The whole team was gassed and it's a damn shame, but giving Stolarz the start would have been something in the better direction for Hak.  I'm disappointed in this call. 

 

[Podein25]

34 minutes ago, King Knut said:

 

To say mason isn't a good goalie is just a little bit silly.  That said I can't figure out why the hell Hak played him against the Devils tonight.  The dude has never beaten the devils and stepped off the ice 19 hours ago.  Stolarz

woukdnhave been playing in front of friends and family in his home state.  Why the hell not give him the start?  

 

The whole team was gassed and it's a damn shame, but giving Stolarz the start would have been something in the better direction for Hak.  I'm disappointed in this call. 

 

 

Yeah I don't see the point of starting Mase tonight. Reflects bad on Hak's judgment.

[RJ8812]

Hakstol has made a lot of bad judgment calls this year. I really dont think he's the coach that will lead us to a Cup, at least not with those assistants he has

[elmatus]

1 hour ago, RJ8812 said:

Hakstol has made a lot of bad judgment calls this year. I really dont think he's the coach that will lead us to a Cup, at least not with those assistants he has

 

Yeah? I personally think Hak has done pretty well in his short time. I agree not playing Stolarz from the start last night was a mistake, but that crap happens. For the most part, he's had solid results since taking over the bench.

[Podein25]

2 hours ago, elmatus said:

 

Yeah? I personally think Hak has done pretty well in his short time. I agree not playing Stolarz from the start last night was a mistake, but that crap happens. For the most part, he's had solid results since taking over the bench.

 

Agreed. Given the talent.

 

Of course, he's got #47 McWin on the backend, which makes his job considerably easier.

[RonJeremy]

With Bobrovsky, we had the best young goalie with the tremendous reflexes and natural skills since  Pelle Lindbergh and we traded him to sign that loser Bryzjerkoff. We were lucky to get Mason but Bob is hands down a better goalie. I agree that Mason is not mentally tough enough to go he distance and Neuvirth is injured every year. Hopefully Stolarz or one of the other kids is the future answer. I guess we have to re-sign Mason in the interim.  Sam Gagner is also having a big year for Columbus, but in the long run we didn't  need another small winger .

[elmatus]

More goalie musings:

 

With the expac draft coming up, I wouldn't mind Hex kicking tires on Raanta. He's generally been quite solid whenever he's been given the chance to shine. Of course, he's played for some great teams, but he'd be a low-risk acquisition at $1mil/year. If it doesn't work, he doesn't stick around. He'd likely be a stop-gap at 27 years old, but that's fine. There really aren't many current NHL goalies around who are in their low-20s.

 

Obviously, it would all depend on what NY would want for him, but with the expac draft coming, I wouldn't be shocked to see them lose Raanta to Vegas, especially if he continues to outplay Lundqvist.

 

Murray is the elephant in the room obviously, but that situation is so complicated. On the one hand, Pens management would almost certainly prefer to move Fleury and keep him. But rumour has it Fleury and Crosby are pretty bff, and I think Sid has a load of clout in that organization. Whether that's enough is hard to say. I think if it were just Fleury, management, and the NMC issue, Fleury would be moved. Add the other stuff, and it's a toss up. 

 

The other combo to watch could be the Gibson/Bernier situation in Anaheim. I don't much like Bernier, but Gibson might be worth a gamble. Much like Murray, Gibson also has the advantage of being young enough to actually be around a while. I don't know which of the two has been better this year, but Anaheim is in contender mode. I wouldn't be shocked to see them move the one who's most likely to give them a shot at a cup now (or next year if it comes to that). If that happens to be Bernier, I can definitely see Vegas snagging Gibson.

 

The other names being tossed around:

 

I think Rask and Crawford will both be protected. Subban is green and Crawford is still young enough to back stop that team to yet another cup. They won't move him until they're forced to or his play really declines.

 

I don't have much faith in Bishop. He's injury prone and generally not a game changer imo. He's big, which is obviously useful, but that isn't enough for me. I know he's been in the Vezina convo in recent years, but I just don't see him as being any more consistent than Mason. 

 

For me, I guess it comes down to not seeing the point in replacing Mason with someone who hasn't shown a greater upside than him. I'd rather keep the known quantity in Mase in that case. Yeah, he's not great, but he's not awful. He's good enough that I'm fine holding on to him in the short term, until we find someone who can steal some playoff games.

 

And before anyone mentions Fleury, he's pretty much the exact opposite of a goalie who will steal playoff games...

[terp]

On 12/22/2016 at 5:28 PM, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

I really liked Marty Biron. I thought he got a raw deal in Philadelphia, especially when he carried that club on his back and gave them a chance to win. I never understood why Holmgren gave up a 2nd for him and then walked away when his contract was up. Biron was asking for $5 million a year at the time, which was more than fair for a guy of his caliber. Holmgren walked and signed Ray Emery for $1 million and then was forced to acquire Michael Leighton when Emery's hip went on him.

 

As for Mason, he's a good goalie, but as I've mentioned in other posts, he's just so mentally fragile when another goalie challenges him for the top spot and he takes so long to get into a groove when the season starts. If he overcame those two drawbacks, there's no doubt in my mind he'd be an elite goaltender in this league.

 

He's played pretty well with Neuvirth on the club.  Do you not think he's beyond this now?

[AJgoal]

8 minutes ago, terp said:

 

He's played pretty well with Neuvirth on the club.  Do you not think he's beyond this now?

 

I think it's more rhythm than competition.

[FD19372]

On 12/23/2016 at 7:03 PM, RonJeremy said:

With Bobrovsky, we had the best young goalie with the tremendous reflexes and natural skills since  Pelle Lindbergh and we traded him to sign that loser Bryzjerkoff. We were lucky to get Mason but Bob is hands down a better goalie. I agree that Mason is not mentally tough enough to go he distance and Neuvirth is injured every year. Hopefully Stolarz or one of the other kids is the future answer. I guess we have to re-sign Mason in the interim.  Sam Gagner is also having a big year for Columbus, but in the long run we didn't  need another small winger .

That is the one thing I don't understand with this franchise. Their best player in franchise history was a goalie, yet they have not taken the position seriously since. I really feel like the Flyer organization let a great one slip away from us to Columbus with Bob. I think it's a slap in the face to all their goalie development coaches as well. I have NEVER liked the fact that Mason plays better without really good competition behind him. It reeks of confidence issues. The scary thing is that I can't name 7 goalies in Flyer franchise history who were clearly better than Mason.

[Podein25]

2 hours ago, FD19372 said:

Their best player in franchise history was a goalie...

 

Clarkie was not a goalie.

[FD19372]

17 hours ago, Podein25 said:

 

Clarkie was not a goalie.

How many Cups did they win without Bernie Parent? Forgive me God and Ed Snider for I have sinned.

[Podein25]

15 minutes ago, FD19372 said:

How many Cups did they win without Bernie Parent? Forgive me God and Ed Snider for I have sinned.

 

How many Cups did the win without Clarke?

[FD19372]

36 minutes ago, Podein25 said:

 

How many Cups did the win without Clarke?

None, but Clarkie played until 1984. Bernie only played until he retired in 1979. Clarke had more opportunities to win another one, but didn't without Bernie.

[Podein25]

6 hours ago, FD19372 said:

None, but Clarkie played until 1984. Bernie only played until he retired in 1979. Clarke had more opportunities to win another one, but didn't without Bernie.

 

Two words: Leon Stickle

[canoli]

getting back to Mason - I don't have any problem with him. Every goalie is a little crazy; whether Mason is more fragile than the rest isn't all that important compared to what the Flyers can control regarding his game. Once again the Flyers have 2 starters splitting time (when Neuvirth is healthy). I thought, hoped a 1A/1B approach could work but it turns out there's good reasons why teams don't have 2 starters compete for time all season long.

 

Mason's an above-average skater and puck-handler, he has good lateral movement, a quick glove hand. He's aggressive going after loose pucks, he can hit guys with stretch passes. Seriously what's not to like?

 

Obviously the 1A/1B goalie deal can't last. Mason and Neuvirth are both UFA and the Vegas draft complicates the landscape. Mason could land the starter's job in Philly with undivided support if he plays it right. The Flyers could do a lot worse.

[flyercanuck]

15 hours ago, FD19372 said:

None, but Clarkie played until 1984. Bernie only played until he retired in 1979. Clarke had more opportunities to win another one, but didn't without Bernie.

 

Bernie played 3 times as many games for Philly as Terry Crisp. Parent had more opportunities to win another, but didn't without Crisp. 

 

Parent was huge for Philly in those cup winning years. You could argue that he was the best player, THEN, for the Flyers. In franchise history? No way. That's Clarke. 

[jammer2]

On 12/22/2016 at 6:28 PM, BobbyClarkeFan16 said:

As for Mason, he's a good goalie, but as I've mentioned in other posts, he's just so mentally fragile when another goalie challenges him for the top spot and he takes so long to get into a groove when the season starts. If he overcame those two drawbacks, there's no doubt in my mind he'd be an elite goaltender in this league.

 

 

 Took the words right out of my laptop...lol. It has become increasingly obvious that Mason does not perform up to par when he has to look over his shoulder. He's the type of goalie that gets better as he plays more, and yeah, the mentally fragile state shines though when he has a bad game and knows it is gonna cost him the next one or two games to get back in the nets.

 

 Mason is the type of goalie who must be a clear cut starter. I don't think Mason is the future however, but a way more than adequate stop gap. That's why I want a 2 year deal, 3 at the very most, so it does not stunt the growth of whoever is deemed to be the next great Flyer goalie.....Hart, Stolarz, Tomek, Sandstrom, Lyons....one if not 2 of these kids are gonna be the real deal, I can feel it in my bones.