(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
As the offseason officially began, it was increasingly likely that Steve Mason would not be returning to the Flyers with no news regarding a new contract for the goalie. Mason had said when the regular season ended that he wanted to know fairly soon if the Flyers had intentions of bringing him back.
But now it appears Mason and the Flyers are definitely going their separate ways. Mason's agent, Anton Thun, said on Wednesday that there were recent talks with the Flyers, but nothing formal regarding a new contract.
"Unless something changes between now and July 1, he'll be going into free agency," Thun said. "In all honesty, he would have hoped the Flyers would have been interested enough to enter into contract negotiations with him right now, but they didn't, so you move on. That's business."
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Mason is third on the Flyers all-time wins list with 104. Mason finished last season with a 2.66 GAA and .908 save percentage.
Ultimately, it was difficult to see Mason returning to the Flyers unless it was out of necessity. The Flyers are in the market for another goalie, potential another 1A-type who doesn't mind splitting time with Michal Neuvirth. The Flyers re-signed Neuvirth to a two-year contract in February and have a wealth of goalie prospects in the pipeline, including Anthony Stolarz, who is also a restricted free agent.
