Best NHL goalie from each franchise: Columbus Blue Jackets – Steve Mason
Unfortunately for the Columbus Blue Jackets, they haven’t done much in their 20+ years of existence. They haven’t won a Stanley Cup championship, a Conference championship, or even a Division championship. One of the very few bright spots, however, was the rookie season of goalie Steve Mason.
In 2008, the Blue Jackets called up Mason to step in for their injured starting goalie and he took that golden opportunity in stride. He had an incredible rookie season in which he totaled 33 wins, 20 losses, and a career-high 10 shutouts. Hopes were high as the Blue Jackets were headed into the Stanley Cup playoffs but unfortunately, reality hit them hard as it tends to always do.
The Blue Jackets got swept and have had nothing but major disappointment ever since. Since Mason’s tenure with the Blue Jackets, they still have a big question mark when it comes to their goalie situation. At least during Mason’s rookie year with the Blue Jackets, they were some of the better moments in franchise history.
2008 was the last time that the Blue Jackets enjoyed the potential to have a strong goalie ready to push the envelope as a staple of the franchise. Unfortunately, Mason never lived up to or surpassed what he accomplished in his rookie season and eventually moved on to other teams.