Steve Mason

[baumer]

It's Filatov and Brassard's fault.

[baumer]

Hitch should have been fired last year. I can't believe how idiotic the media can be as they masturbated to a picture of Hitchcock and his "accolades" last year. C-bus sucked last year until Mason got there. Before that they were playing uninspired and terrible hockey. Suddenly Mason came in and posted shutout after shutout and magically Hitchcock became a good coach.

The man needs to go. In my opinion, fixing C-bus is easy. Fire Hitch. Make your top two lines Nash Brassard and Voracek and your second line Vermette and Filatov and Chimera. This way you have balanced scoring. For your pp, just put em all on one line. Nash, Brass and Filatov on your number one pp. This isn't rocket science. I hate the way he is screwing this team up.

[Savages]

Should Mason be put on your bench for the season and then used next year lol. I have TUrco Huet and C. Mason and I thought S. MASON WOULD BE my best goalie NOT the case as he is by far my worst goalie.

[Scribe]

I was offered Lecavalier for Roy and Mason. Not bad, but that would leave me with Kipper/THE OTHER MASON/Legace. Should I do it now before it's too late?

Never sell low, unless you're trying to cut your losses. I did that last year with Lehtonen because I didn't think he'd ever restore his value.

With Mason, he'll bounce back. For one-year guys, this might not be much consolation, but keeper league GMs would do well to be patient. It's part of a learning curve all young goalies go through when they take the league by storm.

Some work through it, (Cam Ward) and some don't (Raycroft). For some, the jury's still out (Price).

I wouldnt do it. The other Mason and Legace are kinda shitty and not great long term options. You should hope Steve Mason just gets it together sooner rather than later.

I think at this point might as well hold on to Mason because his value is at his lowest. That's what I am doing at least

Bingo. I'm not sure what is wrong with Mason right now, but this guy's athletic ability, size, attitude and the fact that he's playing on a Ken Hitchcock team are all good reasons for Mason owners to be patient.

Panic buttons are for those who lack intestinal fortitude.

Here's an interesting take on last night's game from the Columbus Dispatch blog Puck Rakers.

The aftermath:

Mason expressed some hurt that he would be treated thusly by home fans. This is dangerous territory and, in my opinion, Mason didn’t cross an invisible line and delve into an area where he might be considered crass or spoiled or insufficiently humiliated.

“Seeing the fans giving me the cheers when you’re stopping the easy long shot . . . it’s not a great feeling to get that from the home fans,” he said. “At the same time, they paid their money and they have their rights . . .”

Yes, Mason allowed eight goals on 27 shots. But it is easy to argue that only one goal – the five-hole job by Abdelkader – was Mason’s fault. The rest resulted from blown assignments, turnovers, redirections, perfect shots or combinations thereof. The Jackets didn’t lose the game because of their goaltender(s). That is for sure. Mason, to his credit, was quite eloquent in pointing that out.

“We haven’t played well the entire season,” he said. “There were poor choices, turnovers, not winning board battles – stuff we’ve been talking about all year. The Red Wings really highlighted that for us tonight.”

When Hitchcock was told that Mason was not pleased with the fan reaction, Hitchcock said, “It goes with the territory. We should have all got (mock cheers). . . . He’s our guy and he’s going to have to bury this, and fight, with the rest of us.”

(I think that last line from Hitchcock provides some insight on why he put Mason back in for the second period.)

For full story, see Link

[ross10019]

Bingo. I'm not sure what is wrong with Mason right now, but this guy's athletic ability, size, attitude and the fact that he's playing on a Ken Hitchcock team are all good reasons for Mason owners to be patient.

Panic buttons are for those who lack intestinal fortitude.

Couldn't agree more, and the key word there is "attitude". Mason has always struck me as very grounded, which will serve him well going forward and through any slumps, "sophomore" or otherwise.

[lanky522]

Bingo. I'm not sure what is wrong with Mason right now, but this guy's athletic ability, size, attitude and the fact that he's playing on a Ken Hitchcock team are all good reasons for Mason owners to be patient.

Panic buttons are for those who lack intestinal fortitude.

I'm not sure how much longer this will be a hitchcock team though... Hitch's teams usually decide he's lost his usefullness after several years. The rebuild in columbus is done... they need someone at the helm that can "bring things home." Hitch and his defensive system will not win this team a cup... they need to change something, and their players are all decent enough... i'm thinking a scheme and coaching change is in order.

I'd expect columbus to soon realize what LA did when they recently switched coaches.

[Scribe]

I'm not sure how much longer this will be a hitchcock team though... Hitch's teams usually decide he's lost his usefullness after several years. The rebuild in columbus is done... they need someone at the helm that can "bring things home." Hitch and his defensive system will not win this team a cup... they need to change something, and their players are all decent enough... i'm thinking a scheme and coaching change is in order.

I'd expect columbus to soon realize what LA did when they recently switched coaches.

Definitely a reasonable doubt. Hitchcock does have a style that wears thin or gets tuned out. Even without Hitchcock though, I'd stick with Mason. He proved in junior with London that he could win on a run-and-gun team that played little defence.

[lektrix]

Garon is starting on Friday. We are screwed.

[Chicleteur]

Garon is starting on Friday. We are screwed.

Not if you own both!!! I had a open spot in my league where I own Mason and decided to grab him right after the massacre...

Like Justin (GoalieGuild) already said, at some point they won't hesitate to play him a bit more just to give Mason some time to find his focus back.

[Shoeless]

It was a good move Chic - I grabbed Garon in my one year league - he has good numbers in his limited starts - they would do well to give Mason a little room to recover by playing Garon a little more often I think.

[Yardie]

Dropped Raycroft for him. Hoping some of those results are transferable. Garon is a better goalie at least. I need to grasp at straws...my goaltending is a little *cough* (adjust tie) ...weak.

[lanky522]

It was a good move Chic - I grabbed Garon in my one year league - he has good numbers in his limited starts - they would do well to give Mason a little room to recover by playing Garon a little more often I think.

Garon is a good goalie. For some reason he always seems to get run out of town when he should be the starter.

Garon should get the Dangerfield award for goaltenders. LA kept LaBarbera over him... Edmonton kept an aging Roloson over him (who they cut ties with after last year - what's that tell you?).

Matty Garon is definitely good enough to take a bunch of starts from Mason this year if Mason continues to struggle and he continues to preform well.

Columbus is a "playoff hopeful" (or they consider themselves to be after last year), and I don't think they'll jeopardize that just because they want to continue to go with their "future guy" who can't seem to get his crap together.

[shook81]

I too took on Garon as "insurance" when I noticed Mason was not playing up to par (well before the 8 goal massacre). I feel much more comfortable playing him right now than Mason...and I believe their roles should be reversed until Mason regians his confidence.

[lektrix]

He's starting tomorrow night in DAL. DAL on a B2B. Who's gonna play him?

[ross10019]

He's starting tomorrow night in DAL. DAL on a B2B. Who's gonna play him?

. Turco for sure. Auld's playing the 2bd half of the b2b on Saturday.