Mason moves past darkest hour

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This article was published 15/09/2017 (2915 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In his darkest hour, Steve Mason thought about getting out of the game — for good.

It was the middle of the 2012-13 season and the Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender, four years removed from his sensational Calder Trophy-winning rookie season, had bottomed out as an NHLer. His numbers were poor (2.95 goals-against average, .899 save percentage) and his confidence was shot.

In a desperate move, he was dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers for goaltender Michael Leighton and a third-round draft pick.

“If that trade didn’t happen — that was the last year of my contract in Columbus and I was done,” recalled Mason following on-ice testing on Day 1 of Winnipeg Jets training camp Friday morning. “I didn’t enjoy hockey anymore and was at the point where it was more of a burden than a passion. The passion wasn’t there. That trade deadline happened and my agent called and said, ‘Philly is looking to make a push for you. Are you interested in going?’ I said, ‘Let’s give it one last shot.’ And now we’re six years later, so it was good that it happened.”

Mason remembers his crisis of confidence vividly.

“It was awful. You’re just not happy with any aspect in life. You’re almost depressed — you are depressed,” he said. “And being a young goaltender, somebody who is used to playing well, you don’t have your family around. That’s difficult. There was a lot of phone calls to my parents after games that were more venting than anything. A large portion of still playing is due to the fact that I have such a strong support system back home with my family. It was one of the hard things that I had to go through, but I’m glad that I did because it’s made me the person and the goaltender that I am now.”

In Philadelphia, Mason rebuilt his confidence and his game. Relying on the friendship of teammates like Wayne Simmonds, Luke Schenn and Claude Giroux, he also clicked with Flyers goaltending coach Jeff Reese.

“He helped simplify my game,” said Mason of Reese. “Helped calm it down and add more structure to it. That’s something a lot of young goaltenders don’t have, that structure, that calmness to it. I think that’s helped me along the way here. There was a number of people in Philly that had big roles in keeping the career going.”

Four mostly successful seasons followed in Philly, but change is constant in the NHL and the 29-year-old Oakville, Ont., product was eventually due for a change, too.

Mason, who agreed to a two-year, US$8.2-million contract with the Jets on July 1, put in some extra research before deciding to sign with Winnipeg. And not all of it was about who he would be playing with.

“So far it’s been great,” said Mason. “I think the roster speaks for itself. There’s lots to be excited for up front. Mainly the research was about the climate. What’s living in Winnipeg gonna be like? So far, so good. Like I was saying, the guys here have been great. Right from Day 1, been here for two weeks now and feel comfortable. It’s the most important thing going into camp, feeling good about yourself and feeling comfortable in your situation…

“I’ve got a good group of friends back home (in Ontario), a couple of them actually grew up out here, so they brought me over after July 1 and kinda gave me the lay of the land here, for what to expect. They spoke real highly of Winnipeg, so I’m looking forward to getting the season started and seeing what the climate’s all about. I’ve got a big truck here, so I should be set.”

‘It was one of the hard things that I had to go through, but I’m glad that I did because it’s made me the person and the goaltender that I am now– Steve Mason

Jets head coach Paul Maurice did some research, too, consulting with Pete DeBoer, a close friend. DeBoer, currently head coach of the San Sharks, was Mason’s bench boss with the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers.

“It’s such a difficult thing to have great, great success early on and then have it go away from you,” said Maurice.

“When you have no pro experience and everything is new for you, you’re in a man’s locker room. It’s a completely different game. It’s not a complaint but the media becomes more ruthless. This is a capitalist sport and it’s a performance business, so it’s very difficult as a young player to deal with that. There is more a position in the game that’s a confidence position, and you can lose that real quick. You’ve seen so many young goaltenders who’ll put that year up and then their out of the league, they disappear. Now I look at it as a huge benefit in that he’s been through that and he can handle that. There are no straight great seasons for any goaltender.”

Mason is a thoughtful conversationalist, something that was on full display during a lengthy session with reporters at the Iceplex Friday. He spoke frankly about adjusting to his new teammates.

“For myself, it’s just to kinda figure out what it’s like to play with these guys,” he said. “It’ll be the first time for me. My first exhibition’s gonna be the first time playing behind them. I get to know guys tendencies. Things aren’t always going to go smoothly but it’s a matter of how you handle those bumps in the road. Training camp is, for me in particular, coming into a new team, trying to smooth out the kinks that we have. Make sure that once we play the (Toronto) Maple Leafs on opening night that there are no kinks and we’re all on the same page in terms of communication – who’s blocking what lanes, what’s my role in terms of taking the shooter as opposed to worrying about back door sometimes? So, lots to go over but that’s what training camp’s for.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14