Steve Mason Salary Dump by Winnipeg Jets Brings Paul Stastny Hope
The Winnipeg Jets have made a trade! A minor one, in players and picks involved. But in hope and intention? Not so minor.
The Winnipeg Jets may have seemed as though they were being proactive and safe when they signed Steve Mason to a two year, $8.2mm deal.
Two things popped into my head about this deal at the time: 1), that’s quite a bit of money for a mediocre goaltender, but maybe he needed a little extra cash to come to Winnipeg. 2) I would not have signed Steve Mason.
His role as a “starter” while the kids developed was I guess a fine option, and there weren’t many others in FA. Here we are. Just one season later, Mason disappointed, Connor Hellebuyck made him obsolete.
And now he’s been salary-dumped to Montreal. Tough business, this is. There’s not a lot to say about this deal. Montreal “gets” Steve Mason. They also acquire Joel Armia and a fourth and seventh round pick.
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Winnipeg receives Simon Bourque. I have never heard of Simon Bourque. He does not appear to be related to Ray Bourque, but he is a left handed defenseman with solid offensive and defensive games. But as a former sixth rounder, he’s probably not much of a prospect.
Joel Armia isn’t just a throw in. He’s a former first round pick, albeit of the Buffalo front office, and they’re not exactly trustworthy. He’s a bottom six guy with good size who put up 12 goals and 29 points last season. He kills penalties at a good clip, too, so he’s a useful depth piece. He was also due to get a bit more money as an RFA. Now he will do just that, in Montreal. Pity.
This trade, while it seems as though the Winnipeg Jets gave up something for nothing, is a bit more than that. They did give up something for something intangible, but clearing $4.1mm in cap space is a big deal.
Yes, they could’ve fit Paul Stastny in under the cap, most likely. But with some RFAs looking to get paid (Hellebuyck, Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey will be getting good money), space was at a premium even this year.
Now they can offer Stastny a competitive contract instead of just praying he really wanted to come back to Winnipeg. A shrewd move. They gave something up, yes, and maybe for nothing at all (If Stastny goes elsewhere).
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But with free agency opening at noon tomorrow, I would wager the Winnipeg Jets have a deal in place for him already. Shhh.