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Will Steve Mason clear his mind in time to make the playoffs? (Photo by Dave Gainer/The Hockey Writers)
By Rick Gethin
As has been suspected, Columbus goaltender Steve Mason is now, officially, in the throes of a full-blown “Sophomore Slump”. With an .886 save% and a 3.44 goal against average he ranks near the bottom in both categories. Contrast this with one season ago, in which he finished with an .916 save% and a 2.29 goals against average. It’s a startling difference for a skater who played through so much last year, including mononucleosus and not having a steady goaltending coach on hand.
In the 2008-2009 season he allowed 140 goals in 61 games. Already, in 2009, he’s allowed 75 goals in 23 games. At this rate he would be on pace to allow 199 goals over the course of 61 games. While not all of these goals can be attributed to Mason, as he has had some poor or non-existant defensive play in front of him, the majority can. He lets in “soft” goals that were routine stops last season. At times he seems to be rather tentative in net and he’s not challenging opposing skaters the same way, either. He’s getting beat from behind the net, where last year teams knew to go glove-side with their shots.
What is the malfunction in Masons’ game one season removed from finishing 2nd to the Boston Bruins Tim Thomas in the race for the Vezina Trophy? Has the success he found last year and the fact that it seemed everyone was saying how great he is finally gone to his head? Where did his confidence go? Goaltenders are a quirky bunch and Mason is no different. Dave Rook was hired by the Blue Jackets to give Mason stability with a goaltending he knew and trusted. Mathieu Garon was brought in to give the club a reliable back-up for when Mason needed a rest. Rook seemed to fix the glove-side issue and Garon has been consistant as a back-up. Maybe it’s time to sit Mason and start Garon. “Stevie Franchise” of a season ago looks more like “Stevie Sieve” now. There’s only so long a club can stick with their starter before a change has to be made. If he was made to actually fight for the starters spot, he might get back to the form that won him the Calder Trophy six months ago. As Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock is fond of saying, “competition is a good thing”.
It’s time for Steve Mason to get off the schneid. He has the potential to become a very good, if not great, netminder in the NHL. The problem at this point in time lies between his ears and I don’t think a Q-tip will fix that.
Rick Gethin is the Associate Editor of The Hockey Writers and also the Columbus Blue Jackets correspondent.
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