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Columbus would like to trade Steve Mason, might have trouble doing so

Columbus Blue Jackets v Dallas Stars

DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 29: Steve Mason #1 of the Columbus Blue Jackets at American Airlines Center on December 29, 2011 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

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The Blue Jackets have had their fair share of issues this season and one of the biggest one surrounds starting goalie Steve Mason. Mason has been bad yet again this season and without getting steady goaltending (among other things), the Blue Jackets have been buried at the bottom of the Western Conference.

According to Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, the Jackets would like to alleviate their situation with Mason by dealing him. As Matheson shares, doing that could prove to be awfully difficult for GM Scott Howson.

The Columbus Blue Jackets want to unload goalie Steve Mason, but with one more year at $3.2 million and his game in tatters, the market for the former rookie-of-the-year is about .08 on a 1-to-10 scale. A better bet is they put him on waivers and a team gets him at half price on re-entry.

Mason is at his lowest possible value and swinging a deal for him won’t give Columbus much in return. Trying to float him through waivers only gets them relief from his salary. In other words, Columbus is kind of stuck.

Going through all that effort at this point in the season could prove to be more trouble than it’s worth. Looking at the crop of free agent goalies for the summer doesn’t offer much hope. Unless the Blue Jackets are going to shake things up on the restricted free agent market, going after guys like Tomas Vokoun or Scott Clemmensen doesn’t offer much hope for the future.