Steve Mason: If you are in a Keeper League...

[Pengwin7]

...grab him now.

1. Apparently, the Flyers are giving him the start tonight (vs. #8 NYI).
2. If he wins tonight, he'll get the next start too.
3. If he wins two starts in a row, PHI may be just outside the top 8 in the East. That's a magical feeling. And S.Mason will get the next couple of starts.
4. If the Flyers squeak into the playoffs with Mason, then they will feel he is the future.
5. In the off-season, the Flyers can buy-out Bryz and use the cap space to improve their defense.

The last time the Flyers were incredibly successful was when they went to the Cup finals riding a patch-work goalie named Michael Leighton.



Tonight could be the first step in Steve Mason becoming the #1 goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers.
And if he blows... well, just drop him tomorrow.

[angus]

Steve Mason is, simply put, awful. I have him on my keeper (that shows how hard it is to get goalies in my league). Even with his massive pay cut, the Flyers could have dipped into the AHL/Europe and signed an equal/better goalie for half the price.

May not seem like much, but for a team right up against the cap...

(And I will eat crow if he can somehow morph into a good goalie for no other reason than a change of scenery .)

[VincentVega]

...grab him now.

1. Apparently, the Flyers are giving him the start tonight (vs. #8 NYI).
2. If he wins tonight, he'll get the next start too.
3. If he wins two starts in a row, PHI may be just outside the top 8 in the East. That's a magical feeling. And S.Mason will get the next couple of starts.
4. If the Flyers squeak into the playoffs with Mason, then they will feel he is the future.
5. In the off-season, the Flyers can buy-out Bryz and use the cap space to improve their defense.

The last time the Flyers were incredibly successful was when they went to the Cup finals riding a patch-work goalie named Michael Leighton.



Tonight could be the first step in Steve Mason becoming the #1 goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers.
And if he blows... well, just drop him tomorrow.

That's a lot of ifs. I think he gets shelled tonight and gets yanked. You don't suck big time for several years for no reason.

[SeaDawg]

Steve Mason is, simply put, awful. I have him on my keeper (that shows how hard it is to get goalies in my league). Even with his massive pay cut, the Flyers could have dipped into the AHL/Europe and signed an equal/better goalie for half the price.

May not seem like much, but for a team right up against the cap...

(And I will eat crow if he can somehow morph into a good goalie for no other reason than a change of scenery .)

I completely agree and have been saying the same thing since they acquired him and then for some odd reason re-signed him.

The Flyers have the worse track record with goalies of any team in the NHL. Considering they are perennial playoff contenders, they haven't had a solid goalie since Hextall.

[Pengwin7]

Even with his massive pay cut, the Flyers could have dipped into the AHL/Europe and signed an equal/better goalie for half the price.

True.
But goaltending is a completely mental-position.

Mason started off his career as a no-pressure goalie on a bad-team (Columbus) and was unfortunately named the "Saviour" on a team severely lacking defensive players.
Mason is a big Canadian kid that had some success at the junior level.
Philly might be the right lockerroom for him.
Giroux, Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Luke Schenn, Sean Couturier... Canadian kids that had some success at the junior level.

Check out the 2008 IIHF Canadian Junior squad.
Tell me if you see any familar names to the Flyers.

The teammates and dressing room could make all the difference for Mason.
And the guy who is currently there... an overpaid old-timer (Bryz).
Compared to Bryz - the expectations for Mason will be very low.

It's a possible environment for him to thrive.
Possible.

Championships (fantasy hockey) are won by getting more value out-of-a-player than what you invest him.
If S.Mason is waiver-available... it's a very small investment.

In a keeper league... this is a decent gamble.
That's the point of this thread.

[newper114]

Love this post. I actually have him in 2 leagues so im hoping this all happens . One league we hae contracts and he is 5yrs at $1 so i spot start him had him thrown in in a bigger trade just incase. Other league drafted very late just to have another goalie.

The thing is the islanders always find a way to score when u think they won't. Ill be playing mason tonight eventhough its week 1 of the playoffs just for fun.

[angus]

True.
But goaltending is a completely mental-position.

Mason started off his career as a no-pressure goalie on a bad-team (Columbus) and was unfortunately named the "Saviour" on a team severely lacking defensive players.
Mason is a big Canadian kid that had some success at the junior level.
Philly might be the right lockerroom for him.
Giroux, Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, Luke Schenn, Sean Couturier... Canadian kids that had some success at the junior level.

Check out the 2008 IIHF Canadian Junior squad.
Tell me if you see any familar names to the Flyers.

The teammates and dressing room could make all the difference for Mason.
And the guy who is currently there... an overpaid old-timer (Bryz).
Compared to Bryz - the expectations for Mason will be very low.

It's a possible environment for him to thrive.
Possible.

Championships (fantasy hockey) are won by getting more value out-of-a-player than what you invest him.
If S.Mason is waiver-available... it's a very small investment.

In a keeper league... this is a decent gamble.
That's the point of this thread.

For sure - it's a gamble. I'm playing devil's advocate here. I don't disagree, as I traded a late pick for Mason earlier this year. No downside. But I think the chances of him emerging as a legit fantasy option are somewhere between 5-10%.

[SeaDawg]

But goaltending is a completely mental-position.

not true...although you definitely have to be mentally strong to play goalie, there is a lot more to it

I'd argue that Mason had success in his rookie year because teams had not figured out how to beat him. Once they did, he couldn't adapt and then he fell apart mentally.

I'd also argue that even *if* being a goalie is mostly mental, playing in Columbus was a lot less pressure than playing in hockey-mad Philly. He will be constantly under the spotlight there and the pressure will be even worse on him than it supposedly was in Columbus where winning or losing is not that big a deal.

[Pengwin7]

I'd argue that Mason had success in his rookie year because teams had not figured out how to beat him. Once they did, he couldn't adapt and then he fell apart mentally.

I'd also argue that even *if* being a goalie is mostly mental, playing in Columbus was a lot less pressure than playing in hockey-mad Philly. He will be constantly under the spotlight there and the pressure will be even worse on him than it supposedly was in Columbus where winning or losing is not that big a deal.

I don't know SeaDawg.
I disagree with you.

I don't think teams "figured out how to beat him".
Most players have pre-set shooting techniques. It's not so easy to just flip a switch and say "Oh, Mason is weak 5-hole, I'll just shoot that way tonight". Doesn't work like that.
If players really did figure Mason out... then analysts would have been able to identify those same weaknesses and correct them. But that isn't the case.

I'd peg Mason's failure squarely on Mason's mentality. You get something in your head (expectations) and you start reacting a tenth of a second slower.
You can have exactly the same skills... but that one blip in your thinking and a slower reaction can be the difference in being a .930 SV% goalie and being a .900 SV% goalie.

There was a ton of pressure on Steve Mason, even in Columbus, after that big year. He was going to be the guy to trend that team up. It was TOO much pressure.

Pressure is about Expectations.
The expectations for Mason would be low compared to Bryz.

This thread is evidence enough.
Everybody says that Steve Mason is shit... even the Philly hockey-heads would know/say that.
So if he performs even marginally better, well, that's good, yes.
Low expectations for any goalie = good thing.
See Leighton, Michael. (until Game 6 OT)

(As an off-topic parallel, not trying to stir the pot, but it's like Obama going into White House following George Bush. Obama could do no wrong. Not going there, just using it as a similarity.)


More general thoughts/reply:
Mason has been awful for years. Yup, true.
But it is just one environment - the same environment for years, so, same Mason. Stuck. in. mud.
He's out of the mud.
Is he in new mud?

The ideal environment does exist for each goalie.
And a goalie could flourish in the right system.

Gather up this goalie's 4 years of stats before he switched to STL.
They were... Mason-like.

It could happen.

[havanablast21]

Even as a disgruntled Bryz owner... I will wish Mason ALL THE BEST in this perceived quest to take over the crease, but I can't see Mason being the guy to eventually crack the Philly Goal Tending Curse.

The closest one to do it...now plays for Mason's old team.

[SeaDawg]

I don't think teams "figured out how to beat him".
Most players have pre-set shooting techniques. It's not so easy to just flip a switch and say "Oh, Mason is weak 5-hole, I'll just shoot that way tonight". Doesn't work like that.
If players really did figure Mason out... then analysts would have been able to identify those same weaknesses and correct them. But that isn't the case.

teams do this all the time...they go into a game with a strategy to go blocker side, 5-hole, bottom right-corner, etc. They have advanced scouts (our buddy Goldman is one now) that will provide scouting reports on a goalie's weakness (rebound control, stick handling, weak side, etc.) and then teams/players go to work on exposing those weaknesses throughout the game.

[theslymonkey]

The ideal environment does exist for each goalie.
And a goalie could flourish in the right system.

Gather up this goalie's 4 years of stats before he switched to STL.
They were... Mason-like.

It could happen.

There is one glaring similarity with both those situations. His name is Ken Hitchcock. Playing for a defensivley minded coach can do wonders for a goalie's success.

I wanted the Flames to take a shot at Mason, because I think he still has a lot to offer, but the Flames can't play defense at the moment(we miss you Darryl). But I doubt that it happens in the Goalie graveyard. Put Mason in LA, Boston, MTL, STL, and I think he would have a chance at becoming the goalie he once was.

[Pengwin7]

teams do this all the time...they go into a game with a strategy to go blocker side, 5-hole, bottom right-corner, etc. They have advanced scouts (our buddy Goldman is one now) that will provide scouting reports on a goalie's weakness (rebound control, stick handling, weak side, etc.) and then teams/players go to work on exposing those weaknesses throughout the game.

So what was discovered to be Mason's weakness?

[TheZamboniGuy]

Mason have to be support by a goaltender coach and build confidence ! I don't know much about philly and their goalie support there, but if they have someone like Pierre GroulxMontreal goalie coach, I feel good thing for Steve Mason.

[JagrBomb]

Steve Mason is, simply put, awful. I have him on my keeper (that shows how hard it is to get goalies in my league). Even with his massive pay cut, the Flyers could have dipped into the AHL/Europe and signed an equal/better goalie for half the price.

May not seem like much, but for a team right up against the cap...

(And I will eat crow if he can somehow morph into a good goalie for no other reason than a change of scenery .)

i recall you guys saying the same thing about mike smith when he was in tampa. obviously philly isnt playing the same defensive system as phoenix, but anything could happen. probably wont, but hey there are desperate gms.