Thrashers sign goaltender Mason, trade for forward Ladd

By Chris Vivlamore

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rick Dudley was at it again Thursday.

The Thrashers' general manager dipped into the unrestricted-free-agent market to land a No. 1-caliber goaltender and pulled off another trade with Chicago to obtain a 15-plus-goals forward.

Goaltender Chris Mason, who played for St. Louis the past two seasons, signed a two-year deal worth $3.7 million a few hours after the start of the NHL’s free-agency period. He will earn $1.6 million next season and $2.1 million in 2011-12.

Just weeks after pulling off a blockbuster deal with Chicago, Dudley again did business with his former employer. He obtained Andrew Ladd, a former first-round pick and a two-time Stanley Cup winner.

And Dudley may not be done.

“We are going to kick the tires, either in free agency or by trades,” Dudley said.

Mason, 34, appeared in 61 games last season for the Blues. He went 30-22-8 with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. The 6-foot, 200-pound goaltender earned five consecutive victories from Feb. 9 to March 4, posting one shutout, a 1.74 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage during that stretch.

“It was a pretty crazy day,” said Mason, who only days earlier thought he had a two-year extension with the Blues worked out. “I’ve never been to July 1 [with an unresolved contract situation] before. It was a weird feeling. Nerve-wracking. Don Waddell and Rick Dudley told me I was their guy, and they wanted me to be here.”

In Mason, Ondrej Pavelec gets a goaltender partner not unlike he had with Johan Hedberg, who signed with New Jersey on Thursday. Dudley said he expects both will play plenty, but that will be up to coach Craig Ramsay.

“We think what we have is very appealing situation,” Dudley said of the tandem. “They are both going to play plenty and won’t get tired. ... In a perfect world, they’ll both play 41 games.”

Dudley said the team explored “cheaper” alternatives at goaltender “but Pavs would have to have played 60 games.”

Mason, a fifth-round selection (No. 122) of New Jersey in 1995, went to the playoffs in 2006 with Nashville and 2009 with St. Louis.

The Thrashers acquired Ladd, a first-round pick (No. 4 overall) in 2004, from Chicago for defenseman prospect Ivan Vishnevskiy, obtained from Dallas in the Kari Lehtonen trade, and a second-round pick in 2011.

Ladd, 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, had 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists) and was a plus-2 in 82 games for Chicago last season. In 19 playoff games, he had six points (three goals, three assists) and was a plus-4.

In six NHL seasons, three with Carolina and three with Chicago, Ladd, 24, has scored 149 points (63 goals, 86 assists). He won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks last season and with the Hurricanes in 2006.

“He does everything 150 percent,” Dudley said of Ladd. “It does rub off. He won two Stanley Cups in two different places. He’ll bring the tempo of the team up, and that’s very important.”

The Thrashers also signed unrestricted-free-agent defenseman Mike Siklenka. The 30-year-old had 48 points (24 goals, 24 assists) in 49 regular-season games with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Austrian League last season. He signed a two-way deal worth $500,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL.

Hedberg signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with New Jersey. The Thrashers also lost forward Colby Armstrong, who signed a three-year deal worth $3 million per year with Toronto.

Armstrong said the Thrashers made only one contract offer early, and there was no contact again until some inquiries at the draft, but nothing serious.

"My wife and I fell in love with Atlanta, met a lot of great people there,” Armstrong said. “It's tough to leave ... We're moving forward and are so excited.”

Dudley said Thursday that the team continues to negotiate with defenseman Pavel Kubina, who also became an unrestricted free agent. The team had several conversations with Kubina, he said, but if a deal is going to be worked out the contract numbers must be “massaged.”