On Saturday, Matt looked at all the possible scenarios for Steve Mason as he returns from concussion-like symptoms. But with Curtis Sanford clearly providing a certain level of stability in net and helping the Blue Jackets gain some respectability this season, does Scott Arniel really want to play with fire and go back to Mason in net?
Whether the team has more confidence in Sanford, or Mason is really just that bad, the Jackets have looked more like a real NHL team over the last couple weeks.
What’s more troubling is we’ve seen this story before in Columbus. Remember Pascal Leclaire? What does this team do so wrong with its goalies? Steve Mason won the Calder Trophy as the league’s best rookie, not long after Leclaire signed his “franchise goalie contract.” Meanwhile, the former Calder Trophy winner is barely good enough for the NHL if his stats are any indication.
So, what happens now? Do you give Mason the rest of a season that is all but over anyway? Do you make a move and try to find next year’s goalie now so he has time to build some chemistry?
Whatever the option is, I just don’t see how Mason can get any considerable amount of playing time if Arniel and Scott Howson want to keep their jobs. But they also can’t keep counting on a lucky hot streak from a goalie that was expected to be, at best, an AHL starter.
What would you do with Steve Mason?