Its not like Mason has been good for stretches and not so good for other stretches. He has been consistently solid since he put on the Flying P. Barring an injury I have no reason to believe he wont continue to be solid.

Goaltending is the LEAST of our worries, regardless of what Jeremy Roenick says.

- MBFlyerfan

exactly. i've seen enough from mason in a flyers uniform to feel very comfortable moving forward with him. it's also possible he gets even better.

and as long as we're talking about belfour, i don't recall him lighting the world on fire when he got to toronto either. and the flyers shredded him in the playoffs 2 years in a row (yes, i know they went 7 and 6 games).

Does that mean Homer's done a nice job collecting prospects over the last few years?
- PhillySportsGuy

He was promoted wasn't he? The proof is in the pudding.

exactly. i've seen enough from mason in a flyers uniform to feel very comfortable moving forward with him. it's also possible he gets even better.

and as long as we're talking about belfour, i don't recall him lighting the world on fire when he got to toronto either. and the flyers shredded him in the playoffs 2 years in a row (yes, i know they went 7 and 6 games).
- hammarby31

Belfour's style, IMO, led to him being a very streaky goalie.

Definitely. He's a top-30 NHL goaltender... that's not something they've had going back a long ways. As far as where he ranks amongst his peers, I'd say #15-20 in the league. There's just so many good ones these days, it's not a knock on him.
- Tomahawk

i'd argue he's top 15, and i'm fine with that. he's got a big stain on him from his days in columbus, and it will take 2 or 3 top seasons in a row in philly to shake that.

the average stint we've had for starting goalies here has been 2-3 years going back to hextall's first go around. it's time that ended.

Its not like Mason has been good for stretches and not so good for other stretches. He has been consistently solid since he put on the Flying P. Barring an injury I have no reason to believe he wont continue to be solid.

Goaltending is the LEAST of our worries, regardless of what Jeremy Roenick says.

- MBFlyerfan

Exactly.

I even think there is room for Mason's numbers to get better as the team in front of him gets better and his confidence grows.

His raw physical skillset outpaces any Flyers goalie they've had in a long time, IMO.

I think Mason's good enough to get us where we need to go.

He's got some winning to do yet, and that's not to be understated -- nothing matters until you win enough hockey games to make even ardent critics acknowledge that you're getting the job done.

But that guy...that guy's a good goalie, man. I'm not saying that because I just like the Flyers. I'm saying that because I watch a (frank)-ton of hockey, and that guy looks like a different player since he came to the Flyers. I've seen NOTHING in that guy's game to make me believe he's going to start getting strafed now.
- AllInForFlyers

agreed.

perhaps, but there's little reason to believe he'll regress. he's been nothing but consistent since arriving at the end of 2013. he's matured on and off the ice. i'm thrilled to have him because i believe he'll be a long term stabilizer in goal that the team desperately needs.
- hammarby31

His Rookie season was as a 20 year old kid. I don't know too many 20 year old Goalies who hit the ground running and playing consistantly. Most don't get it together til later. I can see someone that age not being able to handle the most stressful position in sports. But I can also see the Talent was always there. I give Jeff Reese a lot of credit in getting Steve's game and head back on track. I'm not worried with Mason moving forward, but he'll need to string together more seasons of being solid to silence the criticisms of people who aren't following Philly. The good news is that the Fantasy Hockey players have already picked up on Mason as being a solid pick. It won't take long for the rest of the hockey world to realize it as well.

The thing about those Lavi teams is that they still won the possession battle most nights, because they were so damned aggressive w/ applying pressure all over.

It's definitely been a rough transition the past few seasons... definitely seemed like a disconnect between the front-office and the coach wreaked havoc on the ice. With Hexy and Berube on the same page, I think chances are Chief will get the players he asks for, and some players he doesn't like will get the boot (Hartsy).

Hopefully that manifests itself in a clear identity on the ice, and the guys being on the same page.
- Tomahawk

The thing about those Lavi teams is that they were horrible in the neutral zone, and were recklessly aggressive and gave up odd man rush, after odd man rush. They barely won the possession battle in 11/12 and had a 132 more shots for then against over an 82 game season. Which amounts to 1.24 shots attempted for per game. That's meaningless. What mattered more is that they had a team that couldn't be effective playing that style, and the Coach never adapted. That's why they missed the playoffs.

i'd argue he's top 15, and i'm fine with that. he's got a big stain on him from his days in columbus, and it will take 2 or 3 top seasons in a row in philly to shake that.

the average stint we've had for starting goalies here has been 2-3 years going back to hextall's first go around. it's time that ended.
- hammarby31

Amen!

NO!!!!!
- MBFlyerfan

Had no idea what he was walking into

HF updated Flyers prospect rankings (and ratings):
http://www.hockeysfuture....-flyers-2014-fall-top-20/
- Tomahawk

Surprised to see stolarz so far down the list

the average stint we've had for starting goalies here has been 2-3 years going back to hextall's first go around. it's time that ended.
- hammarby31

The thing about those Lavi teams is that they were horrible in the neutral zone, and were recklessly aggressive and gave up odd man rush, after odd man rush. They barely won the possession battle in 11/12 and had a 132 more shots for then against over an 82 game season. Which amounts to 1.24 shots attempted for per game. That's meaningless. What mattered more is that they had a team that couldn't be effective playing that style, and the Coach never adapted. That's why they missed the playoffs.
- MJL

Very true. What frustrated me wasn't their style of play as much as their failure to adapt their style to fit game situations. I was fine with their aggressive style to start games or when tied or trailing. But watching them take ridiculous chances while leading late in a period or game used to drive me nuts and it cost them points on many occasions.

Surprised to see stolarz so far down the list
- Just5

I think it's really hard to judge goalie prospects at least until they start playing against pros.

Pretty much every goalie in the League has to go throught the periods of doubt by outside sources, before they show that they are good enough. Then it changes. It's a normal progression. The solace I take is that any of the comments of Roenick or anyone else really don't amount to a hill of beans, and will have zero effect on how good of a goalie Mason turns out to be when all is said and done.

Pretty much every goalie in the League has to go throught the periods of doubt by outside sources, before they show that they are good enough. Then it changes. It's a normal progression. The solace I take is that any of the comments of Roenick or anyone else really don't amount to a hill of beans, and will have zero effect on how good of a goalie Mason turns out to be when all is said and done.
- MJL

hi bingo
- -davies-

hi davies

When they've had 1sts, they've always made the magic happen. Trick is having 1sts.
- Tomahawk

Ending up with Luke schenn for that #2 overrall pick is something David Copperfield couldn't even imagine

The thing about those Lavi teams is that they were horrible in the neutral zone, and were recklessly aggressive and gave up odd man rush, after odd man rush. They barely won the possession battle in 11/12 and had a 132 more shots for then against over an 82 game season. Which amounts to 1.24 shots attempted for per game. That's meaningless. What mattered more is that they had a team that couldn't be effective playing that style, and the Coach never adapted. That's why they missed the playoffs.
- MJL

Dating back to the John Stevens era, the Flyers have almost always had great special teams play. If they break even at even strength, it should be enough to put them in the playoffs in the east. Anything more than breaking even at ES would be icing on the cake in my book.

Outshooting the opposition by 132 shots over the course of a season is a solid number. It gives you about 11 more goals at ES throughout a season.

Mason was around league average for save percentage for the season last year and went thru a stretch of below .900 save percentage in December and January. I think you are overestimating his overall performance last year.
- psuhockey

You're ignoring the fact that Mason played for the most penalized team in the league, and one that was prone to having games where the defense fell apart entirely.

Are you guys seriously still talking about this on a brand new blog?

Clarke vs. Lindros, who was the douche of that situation? Maybe we could ask Dave Babych for the answer. The Recchi hatred is stupid.

I don't expect Nickelback to get into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and I'm not in love with them but they're clearly a talented band. To me, it's like someone one day said "Hey, I hate Nickolback" and then others followed because it sounds cool to say so. Using my own head and my own thinking, I think Van Halen is a horrid band but to each their own.
- SuperSchennBros

Clarke & Lindros' parents were the douches. There's plenty of blame on both sides in that one.

A band debate is largely opinion, I dislike Nickelback because they are formulaic, and most of their songs simply sound too much alike. The lyrics are simplistic and unwitty. There's nothing they have done that Def Leppard didn't do & do better years before.

Other bands I simply find more diverse & entertaining, and I listen to all kinds of music, from rock to jazz, from rap to classical

Ending up with Luke schenn for that #2 overrall pick is something David Copperfield couldn't even imagine
- Just5

If Schenn plays like he did during the lockout season, or how he did against the Rags in the playoffs, that deal doesn't matter to me.

Schenn can do this, man. He can do this -- he did it for all but four or five games in the lockout season.

It's in there. The Flyers have to get it out of him! From Game 1 through Game 82, and the playoffs -- they've got to get Lockout Luke Schenn out of him!

Very true. What frustrated me wasn't their style of play as much as their failure to adapt their style to fit game situations. I was fine with their aggressive style to start games or when tied or trailing. But watching them take ridiculous chances while leading late in a period or game used to drive me nuts and it cost them points on many occasions.
- BiggE

They should have just fired Lavi once they decided they wanted to go full-on Bruins, and brought Chief (or some other Julien/Sutter disciple) in. Tigers and stripes and all.

Clarke & Lindros' parents were the douches. There's plenty of blame on both sides in that one.

A band debate is largely opinion, I dislike Nickelback because they are formulaic, and most of their songs simply sound too much alike. The lyrics are simplistic and unwitty
- Jsaquella

Yup, at least Van Halen has an interesting guitarist to listen to.

Surprised to see stolarz so far down the list
- Just5

My buddy Akeson got knocked down pretty far too.

Fact is, he might end up on the opening night roster.