 |
The Blues dealt a fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators for Chris Mason. WATCH Chris Mason in action |
While Manny Legace was the team's MVP this past season, he's a small guy and shouldn't have to play 28 consecutive games -- as he did from Jan. 13 to March 11. With a bad knee, it was not in Legace's best interest to play a career-high 66 games, when he had never played more than 51.
There were numerous times that coach Andy Murray would have loved to give Legace a couple of days off, but he couldn't count on Hannu Toivonen, especially in the second half of the season.
"We don't want Manny playing 65 games or so again this season, not even close," Davidson said. "When we looked at our needs, that goaltending position behind Manny wasn't just a huge hole ... but it was a crater."
Davidson knew he had to do something about it -- and he did. The Blues dealt a fourth-round pick to the Nashville Predators for Chris Mason.
"In Chris Mason, we got a guy we have seen a lot of. He's a hard worker, a character player," Davidson said. "Great in the room. Most of all he's competitive -- and that competition is what we need to get to where we want to be next season."
Murray coached Mason with Team Canada at the World Championships in the past, plus he's faced Mason numerous times in Central Division meetings between the Blues and Predators.
"To me, Mason was their No. 1 goalie last season," Murray said, after seeing Mason post a 6-1 record against the Blues, with a 2.09 goals-against average during one stretch. "He's a character guy. He's one of those great stories of a guy who was told he couldn't play at several points on his road to the NHL and he has busted his butt to find a way to win at this level."
Mason, 32, became a problem for the Predators with his $3 million salary for the next two seasons. Meanwhile, the Blues yearned to have a quality backup for Legace.
Mason had a 12-5-1 record backing up Tomas Vokoun in Nashville in 2005-06. He followed that with a 24-11-4 mark with four shutouts in 2006-07, and actually started 21 consecutive games while Vokoun was out with an injury. Although Mason stumbled to an 18-22-6 record last season after taking the No. 1 job from the traded Vokoun, he gives St. Louis much-need relief in the crease.
The Blues had only six wins by Toivonen, their primary backup, last season. The season before, backup Curtis Sanford posted eight wins. In 2005-06, backups Patrick Lalime and Jason Bacashihua combined for eight victories.
The last time the team had a backup with at least 12 wins was 2002-03, when Fred Braithwaite seconded Brent Johnson for most of the season and then was dropped to No. 3 after Chris Osgood was acquired from the New York Islanders.
With those numbers in mind, sending a fourth-round pick for Mason was a bargain in the mind of the Blues.
"We could not go into the season waiting to find another goaltender," Davidson said. "And we weren't going to wait until July 1 to get a goalie.
"Bottom line: We had to fill in that crater right now."
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL. TV, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2018. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. © Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.