[Signing] Ducks sign Mason Raymond 1yr, 2-way ($675k NHL, $225k AHL)

[Rick M.]

I thought Hudler might end up in Anaheim.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

He didn't look like an effective NHLer last year, didn't matter where Bob tried him. He couldn't win board battles, he couldn't make plays, he couldn't finish on breakaways. He was fairly useless out there and deserved to be sent down.

Was a guy like David Jones so much better than Raymond? For a guy that really added nothing to the team during his time here, he was for some reason afforded a massive leash by comparison. As I said before, if Bob had been a special teams genius and had the team firing on all cylinders consistently, I'd give him a pass on that but he's as much to blame as Raymond for it not working out better than it did.

At least try to get a guy going...try to use him where he's succeeded in the past. That's what a good coach would do anyway.

[Calgary4LIfe]

I remember reading somewhere that Raymond was really high with respect to other players on the Flames in his Points/60 minutes. I am too lazy to look it up.

Still, I just don't see too much of else he was offering to the team. I don't think he made those around him better. I don't think - outside of being a decent depth scorer - he did much to help the team at all. Flames were not desperate enough for scoring to justify his spot in the lineup.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Was a guy like David Jones so much better than Raymond?

Yes. Jones looked like an NHLer. He wavered between being a 2nd and 4th liner in his time here but he never was a huge liability. Mason Raymond was a liability on the ice and plays died on his stick on a consistent basis. He brought nothing outside of scoring and couldn't score. No physical play, poor compete level, poor strength, poor puck protection, poor playmaking, poor finishing. Only thing he could do well was skate but that's literally all he had. Raymond was terrible for us.

[Karl]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Yes. Jones looked like an NHLer until this past year. He wavered between being a 2nd and 4th liner in his time here but he never was as huge a liability as Raymond. Mason Raymond was a liability on the ice and plays died on his stick on a consistent basis. He brought nothing outside of scoring and couldn't score. No physical play, poor compete level, poor strength, poor puck protection, poor playmaking, poor finishing. Only thing he could do well was skate but that's literally all he had. Raymond was terrible for us.

I felt I had to. Other than what I added, it's spot on.

[Karl]

Good lord. I can't believe a poster is using David Jones to reach for an argument regarding Raymond. Both those guys stink now and neither of them are NHL-calibre players anymore.

[TheScorpion]

David Jones was significantly superior to Mason Raymond. He kind of sucked last year, but he managed 11 goals. That's 6 more goals than Raymond had points. At least Jones actually played physically out there.

Jones could still play as a 3rd-4th line RW this coming season. I'm not sure if you could say the same thing about MayRay.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

David Jones was significantly superior to Mason Raymond. He kind of sucked last year, but he managed 11 goals. That's 6 more goals than Raymond had points. At least Jones actually played physically out there.

Jones could still play as a 3rd-4th line RW this coming season. I'm not sure if you could say the same thing about MayRay.

Jones got the bulk of his goals in the early going before the drought set in.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

Jones got the bulk of his goals in the early going before the drought set in.

That's sort of who he is. A more physical Rene Bourque.

[Heavy Jack]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

That's sort of who he is. A more physical Rene Bourque.

Yeesh... With that description (pretty fair comparison/assessment of Jones IMO though he wasn't massively physical more just he was better than Rene along the boards/battles) I have to ask - what's with the love for D. Jones?? Did you follow him when he was in Colorado? Even before then? Honestly curious to know!

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Heavy Jack

Yeesh... With that description (pretty fair comparison/assessment of Jones IMO though he wasn't massively physical more just he was better than Rene along the boards/battles) I have to ask - what's with the love for D. Jones?? Did you follow him when he was in Colorado? Even before then? Honestly curious to know!

I've always liked Jones, and I was thrilled when we acquired him from Colorado. He's not a bad player, he scored 20 goals twice in Colorado, and no one else had his jersey, so I figured I'd be unique and buy it. (It was between him and Rafa Diaz.) He became my favourite player in Game 1 of the WCQF against Vancouver in 2015 with his huge goal in the third period. We were down 1-0, and we weren't playing all that well. I was down at the Boston Pizza on 17th watching the game, wearing Jones' jersey. When he scored, I jumped around the restaurant, celebrating with everyone because OMG my guy just scored. Been my favourite player ever since. Always root for him to succeed, I think he's very underrated.

[Heavy Jack]

With a story like that how could he not instantly become a personal fav!!

Epic story Scorpion - all the David Jones love makes so much sense now haha!

[Strange Brew]

So Jones is still weighing multiple long term offers right now?

[Max Cow Disease]

I learned to become a little less experimental with my jersey purchases after taking a wild swing for the fences with a Henrik Karlsson jersey.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Running down ex-players is very Oilerish.

Best of luck to local boy Mason going forward.

Yeah this thread looks a little bad on some Flames fans especially given he's a local boy. It didn't work out but I hope he has success in Anaheim except when he's playing the Flames.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by shadowlord

This article is really starting to make me doubt HERO charts:

http://thehockeywriters.com/mason-ra...anaheim-ducks/

"Former Flames coach Bob Hartley never seemed fond of Raymond’s play, even though the numbers would suggest that he was a bright spot on an otherwise hapless even strength team."

HERO charts are only good for jokes.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

Yes. Jones looked like an NHLer. He wavered between being a 2nd and 4th liner in his time here but he never was a huge liability. Mason Raymond was a liability on the ice and plays died on his stick on a consistent basis. He brought nothing outside of scoring and couldn't score. No physical play, poor compete level, poor strength, poor puck protection, poor playmaking, poor finishing. Only thing he could do well was skate but that's literally all he had. Raymond was terrible for us.

Keep in mind you're essentially applauding Jones, who played a decent amount of 2nd line minutes and only managed 15 points while chastising Raymond for not scoring when he had almost zero opportunity to do so.

Jones is the poster child for why the Flames were dominated when the top line was off the ice last year. A player given way too long a leash by a floundering coach. Raymond had a horrendous tenure here but let's not pretend that he's the reason the Flames were so bad or that he's a worse player than he actually is. He's the one with a contract and Jones is likely finished.

[Da_Chief]

Jones was not a physical player at all. Once in a while he'd get hit hard and he'd get up that's the extent of physicality.

As many have predicted, Jones will be at best a PTO this year. Raymond is a better player then Jones but both are not good players.

[Toonage]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Yeah this thread looks a little bad on some Flames fans especially given he's a local boy. It didn't work out but I hope he has success in Anaheim except when he's playing the Flames.

This isn't aimed at you Eric, just referring to your first line to bring up a point.

I made a joke, it fell flat. Raymond had a rough go of things here and I honestly don't expect his career to pick up again in Anaheim. That being said I think its awfully hypocritical of some people here to pretend that they're wishing Mason all the best when they rode him just as hard or said worse through 80+ game threads over the past 2 seasons.

[StrykerSteve]

If he was off to Europe, I'd wish him the best. As he's still in the league and will be doing his best to ensure Calgary fails, one can only hope he and his new team have a horribly disappointing season.