St. Louis waived Manny Legace on Friday morning, likely ending his tenure with the Blues, leaving Chris Mason as the club's top option in net. Frankly, this is a surprising move. Legace, an All-Star as recently as 2007-08, lost his job as the team's starting goalie only a week ago when he began to struggle after a lower-body injury. Unfortunately for Legace, Mason got hot at the same time.
Legace was stunned to learn of the team's decision, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It's extremely tough," he told the newspaper. "You play your heart out for a team, and the minute you hit a little bit of a rough patch, they dump on you. It was very hard to hear."
Legace has a 3.20 goals against average to go along with a .885 save percentage and a 13-9-2 record. Those numbers are way off of his career benchmarks, but it's shocking that his game has deteriorated at such a quick pace. If he clears waivers, he'll likely end up in Peoria of the AHL. At that point, he may be called up again in the future in hopes that he is claimed off re-entry waivers. His new team would have to pick up only half of his $2.15 million salary. At just more than a million dollars, he could be had for a reasonable salary for a team looking to go into the playoffs with a little bit of depth at goalie.
Mason's value significantly increases with this move, as he is the clear-cut No. 1 option in net for the Blues for the rest of the season. The team recalled Chris Holt to take Legace's roster spot, so there is really no danger of Mason losing many starts to his young unproven backup. Holt's last NHL game was in 2005-06, when he played only 10 minutes for the Rangers. Holt has even spent time in the ECHL this season.
It's been an impressive road to redemption for Mason. In fantasy circles, many thought he was playing out the last leg of his career when he signed with the Blues. He had moved to St. Louis following a tough season in which he failed to meet expectations in Nashville. At age 32, he could certainly be resurrecting his career in the fantasy community. Over his past five games he has been impressive, posting a .988 goals-against average and .966 save percentage. Even if those numbers fall back more towards the mean of his career averages -- 2.61 GAA and .913 SV% -- he could still be a valuable commodity for your fantasy squad. Not often does a starting goalie appear on waivers this late in the season. Mason is available in 93 percent of ESPN.com fantasy hockey leagues and could be picked up and rostered or even held as a trading chip as your league's trade deadline approaches.
Ice Chips
The Rangers certainly looked like they could have used Sean Avery's presence in their lineup on Friday night as they were completely steamrolled by the Dallas Stars 10-2. Don't panic if you are a Henrik Lundqvist owner, your ratios are still safe. Lundqvist was sidelined with the flu and backup Stephen Valiquette was forced to suffer through the painful game, surrendering all 10 goals. … Stars center Steve Ott is becoming an interesting play for owners looking to give themselves a boost in the penalty minute category. He has spent 79 minutes in the sin bin this season, but has been adding some offense to go along with his grit. With a goal and two assists on Friday, Ott now has 11 points in his past seven games. He is spending significant time on the power play for the Stars and is available in 95 percent of ESPN.com leagues. … In a rare start, Dan Ellis stopped all 22 shots he faced for a 2-0 shutout win over Minnesota. Pekka Rinne has started the team's previous six games and has a solid hold on the title of No. 1 in the Music City. … Meanwhile, another backup played well on Friday as Kevin Weekes led the Devils to a 5-1 win over Atlanta. Scott Clemmensen was given the night off due to a poor performance the last time these two teams met. … Devils center Travis Zajac picked up a goal in that same game, giving him 44 points. He's on pace for a 70-point season and is available in 30 percent of ESPN.com leagues. … For the second time in his past six games, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang had a two-goal night. It's a good sign for the Pens, who are looking like they are beginning to click on all cylinders. They easily beat the Blue Jackets 4-1, but it will be interesting to see how they fair in their next two games against San Jose and Detroit. … Ryan Miller had his shutout streak come to an end at 160 consecutive minutes, but the red-hot Buffalo Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-2. Miller is in the midst of putting together his best season as a pro. … Nathan Paetsch could be an interesting fantasy option down the stretch in deep leagues. The defenseman has been moved up to forward to make room for Jaroslav Spacek (returned from injury) on the blue line. Paetsch scored as a forward and could provide some unexpected offense as he is still eligible to be slotted into a defense roster spot. … Another game, another goal for Tim Connolly. Still a great player to add in fantasy as he continues to tear it up for the Sabres. … The Capitals claimed defenseman Staffan Kronwall off waivers from the Maple Leafs on Friday. He shouldn't have a significant fantasy impact in D.C. considering he couldn't crack the lineup on a pretty weak Toronto team.
