After spending the last two seasons in Europe with various professional clubs, veteran NHL goaltender Chris Mason is headed back to North America. According to Mike Ashmore of the Trentonian and My Central Jersey Sports, the Colorado Eagles of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) have signed Mason to a PTO, expecting the goaltender only to suit up in emergency situations.
According to the goaltender himself, it’s not about coming in to win a job:
…they brought up a scenario where I could come in and maybe be an emergency goaltender. I know that the Eagles have had a lot of issues the last couple of years with guys getting hurt and bringing guys in, so this is a chance to maybe have a little more stability in that position. I’m not looking to come in and win a job or anything…
Mason is a veteran of 317 NHL games, most notably with the Nashville Predators where he even received Vezina votes on occasion. The 40-year old netminder once was a star in the league, and holds a 137-113 career record with a .909 save percentage and 2.66 goals against average.
Perhaps the netminder will find himself more active than he thinks however, as the Eagles had six different goaltenders suit up for them last season, four of them for at least 10 games.