This week the Eastern Edge takes a look at Flyers goaltender Steve Mason’s resurgence and how to survive the Steven Stamkos injury

When I drafted Philadelphia Flyers goaltender “Stone Cold” Steve Mason as my third goaltender in the Dobberhockey Experts draft, I strongly felt that he would win the number one job early on. The former Calder trophy winner (2008-09) is only 25-years-old and since arriving in Philadelphia has enjoyed a resurgence. The numbers bear this out so far this year (categories counted are bolded):

When you compare the three goalies I have on my roster, Mason’s numbers look pretty darn good. Still a little light in the Wins department, however, heading into Monday night’s matches, he sits 11th in Goals-Against Average and 18th in Saves.

So why haven’t I put Mason up even one week (weekly rosters) over Holtby or Halak?  The Flyers haven’t been winning many games early on this season, thanks largely to a lack of scoring punch. Philadelphia averages only 1.84 goals per game, second worst in the league, while they average 2.47 goals against per game, good for 12th best in the NHL. The Flyers are 3-1-1 in their last five contests and I’m confident that they will turn it around enough so that eventually I will feel confident choosing Mason over one of my other two ‘tenders.

I finally own Steven Stamkos in a keeper league. In the Industry Experts League, the owner who was sitting in second place when Stamkos went down, let the league know that Stamkos was available. This 12 team league keeps just four players each year, only one of which can be a goaltender. It’s a rotisserie league with the following categories:  Goals, Assists, Power Play Points, Plus/Minus, Shots on Goal, Hits and Blocked Shots.

My four keepers heading into this year were Anze Kopitar, Mike Smith, Dustin Byfuglien and Dion Phaneuf. Not exactly the stuff of legends. The guy who owned Stamkos also protected Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz and Niklas Kronwall.

In a limited keeper league like this, it is imperative that you have the best keepers possible. I really wanted Stamkos, but I was sitting in third place and really hoped to win this league after finishing second last year. One thing I had going for me is that I drafted well and plucked some nice picks early from the waiver wire, so I had depth at the positions the guy needed. Grabbing Frans Nielsen off the wire early was very sweet and gave me depth at center.

After checking out his roster to see where he might need help, I wanted to make him an offer he would have a hard time refusing. He’d obviously be looking for a protectable replacement for Stamkos and he was weakest on defense and left wing. Luckily for me, I had protected two defensemen and drafted Drew Doughty in the fourth round. My defense also included the under-achieving Jack Johnson, Cam Fowler, Matt Carle and Jason Demers.

He looked like he could also use a bump at left wing. My team’s left side comprised of Max Pacioretty, whom I drafted in the second round, another under-achiever in Brad Marchand, Brayden Schenn, Steve Ott, Mason Raymond and Mike Cammalleri. Raymond and Cammalleri were excellent waiver wire scoops.

The offer I decided on was Kopitar, Pacioretty and Doughty for Stamkos, Todd Bertuzzi and Philip Larsen. With Bertuzzi getting some face time with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, he’s got sneaky potential to provide some good numbers while he’s in that role. Larsen has stepped up in the absence of Justin Schultz and supplied some offense from the backend for the sad sack Oilers. I didn’t want to ask for Stamkos and two better players because that might create a counter-offer, which I didn’t want. I also didn’t know if anyone else was going to make an offer.

My offer was definitely an overpayment, but it’s not everyday a player like Stamkos becomes available in a limited keeper league. Once I garnered up enough courage to press Send on the offer, I anxiously awaited his reply. The next day the trade was accepted.

I’m now in second place and the former owner of Stamkos is in third. I am definitely not giving up my quest to finish first in this league either. Obviously in trading for Stamkos I gave up a lot, but hopefully my depth will win the day. If you are unfortunate enough to own Stammer in a one year league, you don’t have to write off the year this early. We’re only a quarter of the way into the season. You can try to compensate with sage waiver wire pick ups or trades, but if you drafted well and are quick and bold enough with your transactions, all doesn’t have to be lost. Think of it as a challenge. You owe it to yourself to make every attempt to overcome the loss of your top player. It might even be fun.

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