Chris Mason turned down a big contract with the St. Louis Blues, who then traded for Jaroslav Halak. Mason entered a crowded goaltending market and had to settle for a very cheap deal with the Atlanta Thrashers.
Mason signed a two-year contract with the Thrashers, worth $1.6 million for the first season and $2.1 million the second. This is a great deal for Atlanta, who get a top end goaltender for under $2 million per year, especially after it seems that they would be unable keep Johan Hedberg.
Once again, you wonder where this leaves Marty Turco and Evgeni Nabokov. At this rate, there’s no way that either goaltender makes more than $3-4 million next season and now there seems to be a sudden dearth of starting jobs available.