April 3, 2013
Two years ago this week, the Flyers defeated the Montreal Canadiens, 5-3. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 14 of the 17 shots he faced and Jake Voracek iced the game with an empty-net goal, his 15th of the year, with just 39 seconds remaining.
The much bigger Flyers news that day had happened earlier in the afternoon at the NHL trade deadline. The Flyers traded goalie Michael Leighton and a 2015 third-round pick, to the Columbus Blue Jackets, for 24-year-old goalie Steve Mason.
Although Bryzgalov was about to start his 20th game in a row for the Flyers that evening, it was a clear cut sign that the Flyers brass were making the trade to take a shot with Mason as their goalie of the future.
It was Flyers GM Paul Holmgren who traded for Bryzgalov, then signed him to a nine-year, $51 million contract in June 2011. With the trade to acquire Mason, the 2009 NHL Rookie of the Year, all signs pointed to a buyout for Bryzgalov at the end of the season, just two tumultuous years removed from that staggering contract.
Which is exactly what happened.
Since "Mase" has come to Philadelphia, he has played exceptionally well, playing behind "suspect" defense on most nights. Mason has stolen points out of games where the Flyers were thoroughly outplayed, making great saves and keeping them in games. Some may not see him as a top-tier NHL goalie; however some of his statistics, even from this season, may tell a different story.
As of April 4, Mason has played in 45 games this season, and although his record is below .500, 16-17-11, and he has been injured some, his save percentage is still .928, third in the league among goalies who qualify, and his GAA is 2.22, fifth in the league. The Flyers lack of scoring is no secret and with a few more goals at the right time, he could have 25 or more wins.
The mistake of Bryzgalov was an expensive one. The trade to bring in Mason was an inexpensive way out of that mistake. Mason will turn 27 this May and has many good years ahead of him. With GM Ron Hextall calling the shots, one can only hope he can improve the roster via trade and the defensive corps in front of him.
With the Flyers failing to make the playoffs this year, there’s nowhere to go but up in 2016.
Mike Watson is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @Mwats_99.
