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Chris Mason (ice hockey)

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This article is about the ice hockey player. For the darts player, see Chris Mason (darts player).
Chris Mason
Mason with the Nashville Predators in 2006
Born (1976-04-20) April 20, 1976 (age 48)
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Nashville Predators
Vålerenga Ishockey
St. Louis Blues
Atlanta Thrashers
Winnipeg Jets
Ritten-Renon
Augsburger Panther
National team  Canada
NHL draft 122nd overall, 1995
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1997–2015

Christopher Robert Mason (born April 20, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He most recently played with Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He previously played for four National Hockey League (NHL) teams. Mason is the colour analyst covering Predators games broadcast on Bally Sports South.

Playing career

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While completing a junior career in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Prince George Cougars, Mason was originally drafted 122nd overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Embarking on his professional career and un-signed from the Devils, Mason signed as a free agent by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on June 27, 1997. After his rookie professional season with the Ducks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, and on the eve of his sophomore season, Mason was traded by Anaheim along with Marc Moro to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Dominic Roussel.

Mason made his debut in the NHL with the Predators during the 1998–99 season, relieving in three games. After a further three seasons within the Predators organization, Mason left as a free agent and signed a contract with the Florida Panthers. Mason was assigned to Florida's AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, for the duration of the 2002–03 season. He re-signed with the Panthers to a one-year extension, however he never featured for the club before he was claimed in the 2003 NHL Waiver Draft to return to the Nashville Predators.

In the 2003–04 season, Mason joined the Predators full-time as the backup to starter Tomáš Vokoun. In 17 appearances that season, Mason finished with a 4–4–1 record with a 2.18 goals against average (GAA) and .926 save percentage.

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Mason played for Vålerenga Ishockey in the Norwegian league with fellow Predator Scott Hartnell. Being hailed as the best goalie in the league ever, he played a big part in Vålerenga securing their 25th league championship and their 24th Norwegian Championship by winning the playoffs.

On April 15, 2006, when he was starting because starting goaltender Vokoun was lost for the year with a blood condition, Mason was credited for a goal when Phoenix Coyotes forward Geoff Sanderson shot the puck into his own net. Mason became the ninth NHL goaltender to score a goal and joined Damian Rhodes as the only goalies to be credited with a goal in both the AHL and the NHL.[1]

In response, Mason said, "It was a cheesy goal. Someone else should have received it."[2]

In the off-season of 2007, Vokoun was traded to the Florida Panthers for a few draft picks, leaving Mason as the starter for Nashville, alone with backup goaltender Dan Ellis. Mason quickly won the first two games, the collective scores of which were 9–1 in favor of the Predators, but then dropped a startling seven straight games. Dan Ellis, however, was able to step up for the Predators and win four straight. Mason returned to play against the Detroit Red Wings in a 43-save loss. The loss was no surprise, but Mason did show that he could effectively remain the Nashville starter, and continued to start for the remainder of his time with the Predators.

Mason at the 2008 Blues FanFest. Mason was traded to the St. Louis Blues in the 2008 off-season.

On June 20, 2008, Mason was traded by the Predators to the St. Louis Blues for a fourth round draft pick. In two seasons as the Blues number one goalie, Mason appeared in career high 61 and 57 games, to post 27 and 30 wins respectively.

On July 1, 2010, Mason left the Blues and signed a two-year, $3.7 million deal with the Atlanta Thrashers, marking the first time in his NHL career that Mason played for an Eastern Conference team. Mason's 2010–11 campaign was a disappointment, as it marked the first time in his career that he posted a GAA above 3.00. Following the team's relocation, Mason played out the second season of his contract for the Winnipeg Jets.

On July 1, 2012, Mason returned for a third stint with the Nashville Predators, on a one-year deal to serve as the team's backup goalie.[3] During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, Mason was unable to recapture his earlier career form posting a career low goals against and save percentage.

With limited NHL interest at season's end, Mason signed abroad in Italy to a one-year contract with Ritten-Renon of the Elite.A on August 6, 2013.[4] After a successful season in Italy, on May 23, 2014, he moved to Germany to sign a one-year contract with the Augsburger Panther of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).[5]

On September 21, 2015, Mason announced his retirement from professional hockey and that he would be joining the Nashville Predators Radio Network as a colour commentator for select games during the 2015–16 season.[6]

International play

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Medal record
Representing  Canada
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Russia
Silver medal – second place 2009 Switzerland

Mason made his international debut with Canada at the 2006 World Championships but did not play. He won a gold medal with team Canada at the 2007 World Championships as a third goaltender. He played his first game at the 2009 World Championships in Switzerland where he went 4–0 with a 1.00 GAA, and helped Canada to a silver medal.

Based on the strong performance in 2009 World Championships and in the NHL regular season leading up to the Olympics, Mason was selected as a reserve by Team Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics as a stand-by goaltender should an injury occur.[7] He would play as the starting goaltender at the 2010 World Championships in Germany, where they lost against Team Russia in the quarter-finals. Mason also played for Team Canada at the 2013 Spengler Cup.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1993–94 Victoria Cougars WHL 5 1 4 0 237 27 0 6.84 — — — — — — — — —
1994–95 Prince George Cougars WHL 44 8 30 0 2288 192 1 5.03 — — — — — — — — —
1995–96 Prince George Cougars WHL 59 16 37 0 3289 236 1 4.31 — — — — — — — — —
1996–97 Prince George Cougars WHL 50 19 23 1 2852 172 2 3.62 .900 15 9 6 938 44 1 2.81 —
1997–98 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 47 13 19 7 2368 136 0 3.45 .903 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 34 15 12 6 1901 92 1 2.90 .906 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL 3 0 0 0 69 6 0 5.21 .864 — — — — — — — —
1999–00 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 52 20 21 8 2952 137 2 2.78 .904 3 1 2 252 11 0 2.62 .923
2000–01 Milwaukee Admirals IHL 37 17 14 5 2226 87 5 2.35 .920 4 1 3 239 12 0 3.01 .891
2000–01 Nashville Predators NHL 1 0 1 0 58 2 0 2.05 .900 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 48 17 21 7 2755 116 2 2.53 .917 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 San Antonio Rampage AHL 50 25 18 6 2914 122 1 2.51 .921 3 0 3 195 9 0 2.77 .926
2003–04 Nashville Predators NHL 17 4 4 1 743 27 1 2.18 .926 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 1 1 0 0 60 2 0 2.00 .933 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Vålerenga GET 20 14 5 1 1203 36 1 1.79 .934 11 10 1 657 22 1 2.01 .936
2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 23 12 5 1 1226 52 2 2.54 .913 5 1 4 296 17 0 3.45 .901
2006–07 Nashville Predators NHL 40 24 11 4 2342 93 5 2.38 .925 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Nashville Predators NHL 51 18 22 6 2691 130 4 2.90 .898 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 St. Louis Blues NHL 57 27 21 7 3215 129 6 2.41 .916 4 0 4 257 10 0 2.34 .916
2009–10 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 30 22 8 3512 148 2 2.53 .913 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 33 13 13 3 1682 95 1 3.39 .892 — — — — — — — —
2011–12 Winnipeg Jets NHL 20 8 7 1 995 43 2 2.59 .898 — — — — — — — —
2012–13 Nashville Predators NHL 11 1 7 1 467 29 0 3.73 .873 — — — — — — — —
2013–14 Ritten/Renon ITL 36 27 8 0 2064 75 1 2.18 .927 17 — — 1030 — 3 1.86 .951
2014–15 Augsburger Panther DEL 33 13 18 0 1865 99 0 3.18 .901 — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 317 137 113 31 17,004 754 23 2.66 .909 9 1 8 553 27 0 2.93 .907

International

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Year Team Event Result   GP W L T SO GAA SV%
2006 Canada WC 4th 0 — — — — — —
2007 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 0 — — — — — —
2009 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 4 0 0 1 1.00 .965
2010 Canada WC 7th 7 3 4 0 0 2.80 .896
Senior int'l totals 11 7 4 0 1 2.06 .925

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ "Goalie Mason scores, wins fifth straight as Preds top Yotes". ESPN. 2006-04-15. Archived from the original on May 26, 2006. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
  2. ^ "NHL Power Rankings". CNN. 2006-04-18. Archived from the original on April 21, 2006.
  3. ^ "Chris Mason back with Predators; Nashville also adds Brian McGrattan". Winnipeg Free Press. Associated Press. 1 July 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  4. ^ "NHL goalie Chris Mason will take care of Ritten goals" (in German). Ritten Sport. 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2013-08-06.
  5. ^ "Chris Mason is the new No.1 Goaltender for the Panthers" (in German). Augsburger Panther. 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-05-23.
  6. ^ "Chris Mason Set to Join Predators Radio Network for 2015–16 Season". predators.nhl.com. September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  7. ^ "Team Canada squad announced". The Sports Network. 2010-12-27. Archived from the original on 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
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