With the news that Scott Howson and Steve Mason's agent are discussing a contract extension it got me thinking - which player would you sign to an extension first - 22 year old goaltender Steve Mason or 21 year old winger Jakub Voracek?

Time to shimmy our butts to the edge of the diving board and take a deeper dive!

STEVE MASON

PROS:
*Plays the most important position on the ice in goaltender. 
*Won the Calder trophy as a 20 year old. 
*Has HUGE franchise goaltending size at 6'4" 220 lbs.
*Has stayed relatively healthy since turning pro.
*Had strong finish to the final four games last year with a .941 Save% 2.08 GAA with 1 shutout.

CONS:
*Suffered a sophomore slump in 2nd season in NHL dropping from .916 Save% 2.29 GAA to .901 Save% 3.06 GAA.
*Weakness exposed in glove hand.
*Shown signs of inconsistency.
*Success as rookie may have gone to head.
*Conditioning issues.

OUTLOOK:
There is no position in hockey that exposes a player mistakes like the goaltending position.  As anyone that has played this game will tell you -- a goaltender giving up a bad goal can suck the wind out of an entire team's sails.  It's just the nature of the position.

Two teams in the Blackhaws and Flyers showed last season that you don't need a big money goaltender to make a run and win the whole thing.  There is just so much inconsistency in the goaltending position thus teams are re-thinking the need to sink major dollars between the pipes and instead invest them in other spots in their lineups (see San Jose as an example).

Like many Jackets, Mason struggled mightily at times last season.  The rumors were rampant that he reported to camp out of shape and that there was some personality conflict in the dressing room - that his year of NHL success had gone completely to his head.

The encouraging news is that by spending the majority of his summer training - Steve Mason has shown by his actions that he recognizes last years issues and is doing everything within his power to make sure that performance is not repeated.  He also finished last season on a strong note.

The problem for Howson is real the real Mason please stand up.  He'd gladly sign the Calder trophy winner two years ago but last year's performance makes that a risky proposition.  The Jackets can't afford to lock up millions on a one year wonder between the pipes.

JAKUB VORACEK

PROS:
*Has the offensive skills to be a star winger in this league.
*At 6'2" 213lbs has prototypical NHL size and above average speed.
*Improved from 38 to 50 points last season.
*Adept play maker and strong hockey sense.
*Scored 22 points in his final 22 games.
*Was actually statistically better on the road (27p) last year than at home (23p).

CONS:
*Needs to improve goal scoring.
*Can play an inconsistent game.  Only scored 24 points in first 42 games.
*Can stand to get stronger and play more physical.
*Conditioning issues.
*Use more work on defensive game.
*Only 9 points versus Eastern Conference opponents last season.

OUTLOOK
While Voracek doesn't play a position that is as vital as Steve Mason's he is a very key piece of the puzzle for the Jackets.

It has been said by many people (including yours truly) that when Rick Nash is no longer the leading scorer on this team the Jackets will go from pretender to contender.  Jakub Voracek is a guy who has that ability which he showed over the final quarter of last season.

Voracek has the size, skating and offensive acumen to be a star - perhaps a perennial all-star - for years to come in this league IF he can keep developing.

Voracek certainly has room for improvement.  He was another player that was rumored to report to camp out of shape last year.  Chances are that heavily contributed towards his slow start.  He also can stand to get stronger and like most young players, continue to work on his play without the puck especially in his own end.

Like Mason, Voracek seems to have recognized his mistakes from last year and is doing everything within his power to correct them.  He has been in Columbus a lot of this summer working on his conditioning.

The biggest problem for Jakub Voracek may be Derick Brassard.  Howson took a popular approach of paying more in the short term while hoping to make it up on the back end of Brassard's contract banking on improved production over the life of that deal.  While promising at the time there are a lot of question marks now surrounding that contract based on Brassard's disappointing season last year.  Howson may be a little more gun shy this time around rolling those dice.

FIRE AWAY - if you are Scott Howson, who do you sign to a contract extension first? Choose in the poll!

My answer in the comments!

-LTL