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In this edition of the hotstove, we discuss whether the Philadelphia Flyers should re-sign Steve Mason or find themselves a new starting goaltender.
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.
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