Since returning to Winnipeg, the goaltending situation for the Jets has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster. Ondrej Pavelec wasn’t the answer, and it took them years to figure it out. Today, they signed Steve Mason in hopes to solidify their net in a time when they appear to be inching closer and closer to being a contender in the West:

Steve Mason, 2 years…. 4.1 million per year.#SigningSeason

— John Shannon (@JSportsnet) July 1, 2017

Mason turned 29 years old in May.

It is always amazing how one season can change the perception of any player, and goalies are no exception. Through his first three full seasons in Philadelphia, he had the same all-situations save percentage as Henrik Lundqvist, and was slightly above Braden Holtby. At five-on-five, the only goalie with a higher mark than his .935 was Carey Price at .939. Dispelling Voodoo has his adjusted save percentage in that span (.931) just below Cory Schneider’s (.932). By most objective measurements, Mason was one of the top goaltenders for three years.

Then last year happened, and that all went away.

Most goalies are not immune to having a bad year, just like most players aren’t, either.

Fantasy Impact

For Winnipeg

This signing should give Winnipeg the stability in net they haven’t had since Kari Lehtonen’s days when they were the Thrashers. It gives them their 55-game starter, and allows the team to use Connor Hellebuyck in a more sparing role rather than be thrown in the fire before he's ready.

Mason tending the net should help the plus/minus ratings for the skaters in front of him, for those in roto leages with such a category. The only forward last year who was a double-digit plus was Mark Scheifele, the only defenceman was Dustin Byfuglien, and players typically known for their solid defensive player like Bryan Little and Mathieu Perreault were minuses. We know that plus/minus can be very random even within a specific team, but improving their 27^th-ranked team five-on-five save percentage should help a great deal here.

Michael Hutchinson’s fantasy value takes a big hit here. It wasn’t long ago that he was thought of the goaltender of the future for the Jets, and now he seems locked into a role which should afford him about 20-25 starts at best – or a life in the AHL at worst. Nearly all of his $1.15M contract can be buried. There's a strong possiblity that he's now just depth insurance in case Mason doesn’t perform as expected for 2017-18.

Keep in mind: one big problem for the Jets in recent seasons was their penchant for taking penalties, and being poor at penalty killing. If they don’t fix this issue, Mason’s overall impact on the team may not be as significant as it should be.

For Philadelphia

Another team with a revolving door in goal, Philadelphia appears to be on the verge of signing Brian Elliott. Supposing that this signing does occur, nothing really changes much for Michal Neuvirth, as I suspect this will be another tandem situation as it was with Mason, where he gets closer to 30 starts than 20. 

Fantasy Players this helps, in order:

None

Fantasy Players this hurts, in order:

1. Hellebuyck

2. Hutchinson

3. Mason (situation not as good as what he had in Philadelphia)