It’s a safe bet that Chris Mason will not win the Vezina Trophy. He doesn’t have the front-running stats of Boston’sTim Thomas or the new-guy success and impressive shutout total (10) of Steve Mason (no relation) in Columbus. He’s nowhere near the wins total of Calgary’sMiikka Kiprusoff (43) and he’s not always in the top five in any of the usual judgment day categories (save percentage, goals-against average, wins, shutouts, minutes played) that general managers fiddle with when filling out their ballots.
Mason is also likely to lose out in the confusion derby since he and Steve both play in the same division, and in the name recognition game, Chris isn’t registering anywhere outside of St. Louis these days. That confuses me. Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago — his 27th consecutive start — notwithstanding, he’s been a savior for the Blues.

Calder Candidates

Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason leads an extraordinary group of rookies vying for the Calder Trophy. Craig Custance says it includes Predators goalie Pekka Rinne and the Blackhawks’ Kris Versteeg. Who should win?