After acquiring him in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets earlier in the day, the Montreal Canadiens will buy out the contract of Steve Mason.
Steve Mason will be put on unconditional waivers at noon to buy out his contract. @CanadiensMTL #tvasports
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) June 30, 2018
The goaltender had been brought into the Jets organization to take a starting role, but was supplanted by the exceptional play of Connor Hellebuyck. Unable to perform well when called upon, Mason was expendable for the team, and his hefty contract became a burden for a team in serious contention for the Stanley Cup.
The plan for the Canadiens was clearly to buy Mason out from the start, using the cap space they had available to secure some draft picks and an NHL player. With him now set to become a free agent, other teams may be willing to give him an inexpensive deal, and allow him to refind his game without the pressure of needing to live up to a large contract.
With goaltender Steve Mason on unconditional waivers, here is how a buyout will breakdown against the #Habs for the next two seasons.
They will take on a $1,366,667 cap hit in both seasons.https://t.co/xVgziWwlYh pic.twitter.com/cekp1kBvcE
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 30, 2018
