Don't laugh; but if 'Stonewall' Steve Mason leads the Blue Jackets to its first playoff berth the rookie will earn some MVP votes.
Jim Brown. Wilt Chamberlain. Fred Lynn.
It is never wise to count your chickens, if you know what I mean, particularly when you are talking about the NHL's hard luck team with no playoff games to show in their first seven seasons.
But if 20-year-old goaltender Steve Mason continues to work his magic and gets the Blue Jackets into the post season then he could join Brown, Chamberlain and Lynn as first-year players to be named the most valuable player in his league.
Mason, who didn't even get his first start until Nov. 5 when he beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4, has been nothing short of spectacular since that game. Through January 13, Mason is 16-9-1 and leads the NHL in goals-against average (1.80), save percentage (.936) and shutouts (six). Folks in Columbus (not exactly a hockey hotbed) have even begun calling the Oakville, ON-native Stonewall Mason.
Not bad for a kid who started the year in the American League and sat third on the Blue Jackets depth chart behind starter Pascal Leclaire and back up Fredrik Norrena. Leclaire is injured and could miss the rest of the season while Norrena cleared wavers and packed up for Russia.
Mason, meanwhile, emerged as one of the big stories of the year, suddenly a leading candidate to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie and a legitimate contender for the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie. Since the Vezina became the most valuable goaltender award in 1981-82, only three rookies - Tom Barrasso, Ron Hextall and Ed Belfour - have won it. Barrasso and Belfour also won the Calder while Hextall placed second behind Luc Robitaille.
While the Blue Jackets have had to contend with injuries to many of their key players, their 20-year-old wunderkind has performed like a grizzled veteran.
"When you have an athlete that is as exceptional as he is, it isn't about age," said Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock. "When you have an athlete that is as gifted as Steve, it doesn't matter if he's 18, 25 or 30 years old. We don't look at him as a 20-year-old; we look at him as an exceptional athlete except for on non-game days when we have to monitor things like his eating habits because younger players don't always know the right way to treat their bodies. On game days, though, he's just another player."
Just another player? Hardly.
Blue Jackets director of player personnel Don Boyd knew he was onto something special when he watched Mason practice with the London Knights as a rookie. That season he played nine games Jr. B with the Petrolia Jets and just 12 with the Knights, but convinced the Boyd he was good enough for the Jackets to draft 69th overall in 2006.
Mason went on to lead Canada to a gold medal at the 2008 World Junior Championship where he was named the tournament's top goalie and most valuable player. He has justified former GM Doug MacLean's decision to draft him by playing spectacularly this season.
Mason's best game, without question, came on January 9 when he stoned the Capitals 3-0 in Washington. The Caps threw everything they had at Mason, outshooting the visitors 45-23; which included stopping Alexander Ovechkin 12 times.
"I think we were really nervous at the start of the game," Hitchcock said. "You're lucky to win a game in Washington when you have your full team and we had so many of our regulars out that night. The way he played that night really settled the rest of the team down."
If the Blue Jackets can stay healthy, Hitchcock believes they have a very good chance of making the playoffs.
"We are really an underrated team when we are healthy," Hitchcock said. "The way we look at it is until the All-Star break we are going to depend on Steve big time. Because of our injury situation, we need him to continue to play the way he has. Our players believe in him. If we carry a lead into the third period, it doesn't matter if it's 1-0 or 2-1 or 3-2, our players have a real confidence that we can manage the game."
Can Mason really win the Hart Trophy as league MVP? Well, to be honest it would be a long shot, particularly with the way Ovechkin has played thus far. Ovie is the leading contender for the award. But a rookie winning the Hart is not unprecedented. Way back in 1925-26 Nels Stewart was named MVP in his rookie season and the following year Herb Gardiner did likewise.
One thing is certain, if Mason gets the Blue Jackets into the playoffs, at the very least he will receive strong consideration for the award. And if he finishes the season leading all goalies in GAA, SP and shutouts, well, stranger things have happened.