Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: Steve+Mason
The Case for Number One in Goal
by Ian Gooding on 08/22/11 at 08:00 AM ET
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Determining a first overall pick in this year’s fantasy hockey drafts is anything but easy, but we probably know this much: the first overall pick won’t be a goalie. Yet a goalie is an important investment to fantasy hockey teams, since only two goalies can be responsible for four out of a team’s ten stat categories in many fantasy hockey leagues. The need for solid goaltending explains why many starting goalies can fly off the board early in fantasy hockey drafts.
Filed in: Fantasy Hockey and Gaming, thegoods13 | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Carey+Price, Cory+Schneider, fantasy+hockey, goalies, Henrik+Lundqvist, Ilya+Bryzgalov, Jose+Theodore, Martin+Brodeur, Nikolai+Khabibulin, Pekka+Rinne, Roberto+Luongo, Ryan+Miller, Sergei+Bobrovsky, Steve+Mason, Tim+Thomas, Tomas+Vokoun, Tuukka+Rask,
What To Do With Steve Mason?
by Paul on 12/20/10 at 08:42 AM ET
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from Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch,
Drawing on the history of great goaltenders who required taking a step back, Darren Pang believes the Blue Jackets should send Steve Mason to the minors to regain his confidence.
Drawing on nearly 40 years of NHL experience as a goalie and broadcaster, Glenn “Chico” Resch thinks Mason would benefit from a fresh set of eyes analyzing his game.
Drawing on a 1980s movie analogy, Daryl Reaugh says the Jackets need to keep putting Mason in the danger zone until his talents propel him.
“It’s like Maverick in Top Gun, you keep sending him back up until he breaks through.” said Reaugh, an analyst for Versus and the Dallas Stars. “This kid is way too good to be struggling like he is.”
While four former NHL goalies and current television analysts offered different takes on Mason, they all agreed that Mathieu Garon is capable of carrying the Blue Jackets as they try to get their 22-year-old franchise goalie untracked.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Steve+Mason,
Not What You Need From Your Franchise Goalie
by Paul on 12/17/10 at 09:36 AM ET
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from Aaron Portzline of Puck-Rakers,
In the wake of a 6-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Rexall Place, Arniel must surely hope that this is rock bottom for goaltender Steve Mason, who was pulled for the third time in four games, but not before the loss to the Oilers was out of hand.
“(Mason) is in his own head right now,” Arniel said. “He’s probably his own worst enemy. But we’re going to stick with him and do everything we can to help him. Obviously, he has to be a big part of our hockey club.”
Arniel said he had a conversation with Mason during the first intermission, in which he told Mason that he was putting him back out for the second period, giving him a chance to work his way out of his struggles.
It was a crossroads moment in the game. The Blue Jackets dominated the first period, outshooting the Oilers 23-13 but trailing 3-2, and Arniel noted afterward that “I had more to say than him.”
Mason, who did not speak with reporters post-game, could not get it back together in the second period. By the end of the second, it was 6-2 Oilers and Mason was lunging at pucks, overplaying angles and not looking anymore comfortable.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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JJ’s Three Cheers: 10/21/10
by Jon Jordan on 10/21/10 at 08:33 AM ET
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Today’s three cheers for last night’s top performers in NHL action:
***Cheers to Chicago’s Marty Turco, who made 36 saves and held the fort for the ‘Hawks in the shootout for a 2-1 decision over the Vancouver Canucks. Turco only had to make one save in the breakaway tiebreaker, on Mikael Samuelsson, but Roberto Luongo stopped none at the other end and the Blackhawks earned the extra point in turn. Luongo was good during the actual game, making 31 saves of his own and earning third star honors, but what’s going on with his early season numbers? A 3.38 goals-against and an .888 save percentage isn’t exactly the Bobby Lu Canucks fans expect, nor is the 2-3-2 mark for their club. Surely, it’s only a matter of time before he (and the team) turns it around. (Right?)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Andrei+Loktionov, Anze+Kopitar, Brad+Richards, Dan+Boyle, Drew+Doughty, Jeff+Skinner, Marty+Turco, Mikael+Samulesson, Rick+Nash, Roberto+Luongo, Steve+Mason,
Steve Mason Saved By The Throat Protector
by Paul on 10/09/10 at 05:43 PM ET
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Patrick Marleau rifled a shot which was stopped by Steve Mason’s throat protector. It wasn’t too long ago that piece was not part of the goalie mask.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Patrick+Marleau, Steve+Mason,
Report- Steve Mason Agrees To Extension With Columbus
by Paul on 09/20/10 at 01:28 PM ET
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via Bob McKenzie tweet,
Sources say CBJ netminder Steve Mason has agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension, $2.6M and $3.2M for an AAV of $2.9M.
added 2:32pm, via Aaron Portzline tweet,
#CBJ confirm two-year contract extension w G Steve Mason. $2.6M in 2011-12, $3.2M in 2012-13. Will be announced by club later today.
added 3:42pm, from a Columbus Blue Jackets release,
“Steve Mason is a young goaltender with great size and athleticism and we are very pleased that we were able to agree on this contract extension,” said Howson. “He is an important member of our team and we’re excited that he will continue to be a significant contributor to our hockey club in the future.”
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Is Steve Mason A $3M Goalie?
by Paul on 09/03/10 at 08:27 AM ET
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via Bob Hunter of the Columbus Dispatch,
Goaltender Steve Mason and forward Jake Voracek are entering the last year of their entry-level deals, which means that since July 1, the Blue Jackets have been able to sign them to extensions. But general manager Scott Howson isn’t talking about the matter.
It doesn’t matter. The Blue Jackets believe that Mason is going to be a franchise goaltender, so his sophomore slump works to the club’s advantage. If Mason had followed the 2008-09 season, when he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie, with another big year, he might have been looking at $6 million per season. Now, it’s probably half that.
The team’s personnel people think that Voracek will ultimately be a point-a-game guy, so they will try to lock him up long term before he becomes that. The question is whether Voracek will opt for a little more security or take a chance that a big year is coming up. The argument in favor of Voracek waiting is that he could end up on the first line with Rick Nash and Antoine Vermette, which could inflate his totals.
It’s easy to see why Howson wouldn’t want to discuss this in public.
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Morning Line
by Paul on 01/24/10 at 09:54 AM ET
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“I don’t think of this as a step back. I made one mistake. You guys (in the media) can jump all over that if you want. I played well the rest of the way, so …”
-Columbus goaltender Steve Mason (via Aaron Portzline of Puck-rakers) on the Eric Belanger goal he gave up last night, which could be considered a weak goal.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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What’s Wrong With Steve Mason?
by Paul on 01/23/10 at 08:03 AM ET
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from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,
The Dispatch asked two former NHL goaltenders, Daryl Reaugh and Ron Tugnutt, for their views on Mason’s season, the changes he needs to make and what his future might hold.
Reaugh, who played from 1984 to ‘91 with Hartford and Edmonton, does color commentary for the Dallas Stars. Tugnutt was active from 1987 to 2004 for a variety of clubs, including the Blue Jackets in their early years. He coaches goaltenders for a junior team in Oshawa, Ontario.
Daryl Reaugh
• What he sees: “Last season, he would get to his spot, stand there and defy guys to beat him. Now, rather than going to the spot he believes in and challenging the shooter, he’s going to that spot and he’s leaving that spot for no apparent reason. And when you chase the puck, you beat yourself. It’s a function of not trusting the defensive play in front of you. You’re worried about the shooter, but also the other guy whose lane might not be covered by your d-man.”
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Morning Line- Part 2
by Paul on 11/12/09 at 08:41 AM ET
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“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. At the same time, they paid their money and they have their rights . . .”
-Columbus goaltender Steve Mason after losing to the Wings last night. More on the game from Michael Arace at Puck-rakers.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Steve Mason Still Has Goals To Achieve
by Paul on 08/02/09 at 07:48 AM ET
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from Ryan Pyette of the Toronto Sun,
Five goalies are invited to joust for the Vancouver trip. Three get the call.
The favourites—New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur and Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo—have reached crease superhero status. It’s difficult to imagine a Team Canada without them.
Mason is the youngest and, at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, the biggest. He’ll battle a couple of Stanley Cup winners—Carolina’s Cam Ward and Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury—for the No. 3 spot.
“I’ve played for Canada internationally before (MVP and gold medal at the 2008 world juniors) but this is a whole different level with all the star players in the NHL,” Mason, 21, said. “I idolized Martin Brodeur as a kid and I’ve played against Roberto Luongo, who I really respect.
“It would be unbelievable to get the chance to be part of it. I think the Olympics first hit home for me in 2002 when Canada won it.
“I was (13 years old) and I was at my best friend’s house (in Oakville) and we went out after the gold medal game and played road hockey.”
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Mason Does Las Vegas
by Paul on 06/18/09 at 08:32 AM ET
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from Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets,
Hello everyone. I just spent my first afternoon in Vegas and the one thing I got out of it was blisters. We went down to the strip and walked EVERYWHERE. I can’t remember the last time I walked that much. We checked out a few of the other hotel-casinos. Caesar’s Palace and the Bellagio were two of them. I gambled a lit bit – slot machines – for fun, but mostly we just took it all in.
There are a ton of shopping places here. We went to Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and there was an Elvis impersonator actually singing in one of the stores. That was pretty cool… sort of creepy, but cool. There was another place across the street from Bellagio that had a ton of stores, too.
continued (Mason is blogging from the NHL Awards Show)...
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
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A Look At Steve Mason
by Paul on 03/15/09 at 08:22 AM ET
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Elliotte Friedman of HNIC did a great feature on Columbus goalie Steve Mason last night.
I can’t point directly (no youtube either) to the 5 minute video, but start here, then look to the right for Top Stories then scroll to the Inside Hockey: Steve Mason feature.
Note to Steve- time to update the bedroom!
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Two Goalies In The Calder Race
by Paul on 03/12/09 at 01:00 PM ET
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from Dan Pollard of TSN,
Nashville’s Pekka Rinne is giving the Blue Jackets’ Steve Mason a run for top rookie honours. Both have helped put their teams in a position to make the playoffs this year. For Columbus it would be the franchises maiden voyage into the post-season.
There’s not much to choose from when comparing the goaltenders numbers wise.
Other than shutouts, Rinne’s numbers are better or almost identical to Masons.That being said, when forced to make a choice my support leans to Mason.
read on and more NHL topics (fighting and Daniel & Henrik Sedin)...
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Pekka+Rinne, Steve+Mason,
The Blue Jackets Strength Starts In Goal
by Paul on 02/14/09 at 08:33 AM ET
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from Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch,
Hitchcock, like Holland, would begin his ideal team with a goaltender. In Dallas, he saw the before/after effect of Ed Balfour, whose work in net helped the Stars win the 1998-99 Stanley Cup.
“You don’t realize how important a goalie is until you have one,” he said. Which is why the Blue Jackets are so better positioned for a deep run into the playoffs, once they finally get there, than many teams.
Would Mason, who appears fully recovered from mononucleosis that kept him out of the previous three games, be able to hold up under playoff pressure? Impossible to know for sure, but the best goaltenders—the ones left standing, as Hitchcock likes to say—are the most competitive ones. And Mason burns with a bristly passion to win.
“There couldn’t have been a better team to come back against,” he said.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Steve Mason On IR
by Paul on 02/07/09 at 11:31 PM ET
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COLUMBUS, OHIO – The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed rookie goaltender Steve Mason on injured reserve retroactive to February 4, club General Manager Scott Howson announced today. Mason was diagnosed with mononucleosis on January 29.
Mason, 20, has posted a 19-12-2 record with a 2.09 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and seven shutouts in 34 games with the Blue Jackets this season. He leads the NHL in shutouts, while ranking second in goals-against average, seventh in save percentage and is tied for 10th in wins.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Steve Mason Has Been Playing With Mononucleosis
by Paul on 02/01/09 at 08:39 AM ET
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from Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch,
General manager Scott Howson confirmed late last night to The Dispatch that Mason has been suffering from mononucleosis for three to four weeks.
The rookie-of-the-year candidate made his 18th consecutive start last night but allowed three goals in the first 11 minutes of a 7-3 loss to the Dallas Stars and was pulled for the first time in his NHL career.
Howson said doctors did not diagnose Mason’s infection until Thursday, and he defended the team’s decision to play him in back-to-back starts this weekend.
“Our doctors feel he’s had it for a while and they feel he’s on the other side of the virus,” Howson said. “The worst of it is probably over.”
Mason’s spleen is not enlarged, one of the complications sometimes associated with mono, Howson said.
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Mason Looking At Major Awards
by Paul on 01/10/09 at 03:42 PM ET
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from Brian Costello of the Hockey News,
Forget all that stuff you’ve heard lately about Columbus rookie Steve Mason being a late-entry candidate for the Calder Trophy. If he keeps playing even close to the way he has through 24 games, he’ll win the Vezina as the NHL’s top goalie and the Hart as the league’s most valuable player.
No player in the history of the league has won those three awards in the same season, so we truly are seeing a phenomenal story in the making.
Consider the undisputable facts. Mason spent the first month of the season in the American League as Pascal Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena patrolled the crease for the Blue Jackets. It wasn’t until Nov. 5 the 20-year-old Mason got his first start of the season. He started off with three straight wins and six of nine.
Then Mason got hot.
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Another Blue Jacket May Be Hurt
by Paul on 01/09/09 at 05:20 PM ET
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via Aaron Portzline of Puck-rakers,
Just spoke with GM Scott Howson in the lobby restaurant of the Blue Jackets team hotel. Goaltender Steve Mason is questionable for tonight’s game vs. Washington with upper body “tightness.”
update 7:10pm, Mason is in the lineup.
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Rookie Of The Month
by Paul on 01/02/09 at 03:02 PM ET
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NEW YORK (Jan. 2, 2009)—Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason, who posted a 7-5-0 record with a 1.41 goals-against average, .950 save percentage and three shutouts in 12 games, has been named the NHL Rookie of the Month for December. It marks the second consecutive month that Mason has earned top rookie honors and the third consecutive month a Blue Jackets player has done so, following Derick Brassard in October.
Mason edged St. Louis Blues center Patrik Berglund (6-7—13 in 15 games), Anaheim Ducks right wing Bobby Ryan (4-8—12 in 13 games), Boston Bruins left wing Blake Wheeler (5-6—11 in 13 games), Florida Panthers center Michael Frolik (4-7—11 in 14 games) and Chicago Blackhawks right wing Kris Versteeg (3-6—9 in 11 games) for the award.
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Steve Mason With Another Shutout
by Paul on 01/01/09 at 07:27 AM ET
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from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch,
Less than an hour before 2008 turned to 2009 in the Eastern time zone, Blue Jackets goaltender Steve Mason played his way into the club’s record books during a 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks in the Honda Center.
Mason made 27 saves for his third straight shutout, giving him 181 minutes, 59 seconds—and counting—without allowing a goal.
“I’ve never even had two shutouts in a row (before this),” Mason said. “It was a tight game. Very tight. The guys played great in front of me. I didn’t really have to make too many really good saves. It was a pretty routine game.”
read on for a game recap….
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Mason In The Calder Race
by Paul on 12/19/08 at 03:08 PM ET
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from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,
No, Stamkos and Kyle Turris, the other pre-season Calder Trophy favorite, are not in the mix as the NHL passed the one-third mark of the season in mid-December – and you could make a case that the leader at this stage of the season is a player who wasn’t even in the NHL on opening night.
That would be Columbus Blue Jackets’ goaltender Steve Mason, the London Knights’ grad, who continued his exceptional early-season run this past week, by out-and-out stealing a 2-1 overtime victory from the Sharks. Mason stopped 47 shots in the victory – third-most in franchise history – and allowed just a single goal to the highest-scoring team in the NHL.
read on plus, Sundin, Wings/Sharks and other hockey topics…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
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Two Rookies On The Radar
by Paul on 12/05/08 at 12:23 PM ET
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from Jeff Hale of Slap Shot at the NYT,
Hands up out there if you had Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks as your candidate for the Calder Trophy this season.
Versteeg, 22, leads N.H.L. rookies in points (22), assists (15) and plus-minus (+13). Versteeg’s route to prominence was a long one. He has escaped major notice because he was drafted four years ago in the fifth round by Boston, who dealt him to Chicago for Brandon Bochenski in February 2007. The Bruins would probably love to redo that deal.
It’s possible that Versteeg’s main challenger could be just as unexpected. Steve Mason, 20, the goalie for the Columbus Blue Jackets, is 6-3-1 with a .917 save percentage and a 2.18 goals-against average. He also has two shutouts.
continued with some WHC and Phaneuf talk included.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Kris+Versteeg, Steve+Mason,
Mason May ‘Stick’ With Columbus
by Paul on 11/26/08 at 09:26 AM ET
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from Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Disptach,
(Steve) Mason, who posted his first NHL shutout Saturday, will start at 7 tonight when the Blue Jackets play the Phoenix Coyotes in Nationwide Arena. It’ll be his seventh start in the past nine games.
“Right now, we’re going day to day with the situation,” Howson said, delaying a decision on the Blue Jackets’ three-headed goaltender situation for a few more days. Mason, Pascal Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena remain on the active roster.
But when coach Ken Hitchcock was asked to map out the club’s upcoming schedule—seven games in the next 12 days—he mentioned Mason and Leclaire at least sharing duties, a signal that Mason’s next month is certain enough that he could buy a Christmas tree this weekend.
“The kid’s earned it,” Hitchcock said after Mason’s 15-save effort in Atlanta, a 2-0 Blue Jackets win. “What else can you say, but the kid has definitely earned the chance (to start tonight).”
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Blue Jackets Call Up Steve Mason
by Paul on 01/07/08 at 03:58 PM ET
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via the Columbus Blue Jackets,
The Columbus Blue Jackets have added goaltender Steve Mason to the roster on emergency recall, club General Manager Scott Howson announced today. Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire left Saturday’s game at San Jose following the second period due to illness and will not be available to play when the club visits the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday.
Mason, 19, was recently named the Most Valuable Player at Top Goaltender at the 2008 World Junior Championships after leading Canada to its fourth-straight gold medal. The Oakville, Ontario native went 5-0-0 with a 1.19 goals-against average, .951 save percentage and one shutout in five games.
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