EDINA, Minn. — The bag propped over his shoulder, in Winnipeg Jets blue and silver, looked a bit strange. But as Mason Shaw walked out of Braemar Arena following Wednesday’s Da Beauty League game, the Minnesota Wild fan favorite’s popularity clearly hadn’t waned.
“Mason! Mason!” “We love you!” Shaw, 27, had spent the first seven years of his career in the Minnesota organization. There was plenty of heartbreak and pain as Shaw suffered four ACL tears, but he came back strong each time. There’s a reason Shaw was the local chapter of the PWHA’s Masterton Trophy nominee, and why Wild staff considered him a “heart and soul player.
” Advertisement And while Shaw signed a one-year, two-way $775K deal with the rival Jets in July, not much has changed. He spent this summer in Minneapolis, where his girlfriend is from and where all his best friends — Wild teammates — live. They golfed.
They had beers. Eventually, they’ll part ways and then play against each other in two of the first three preseason games in September. “Some guys here the last few years in Minnesota are going to be guys I’ll hang out with the rest of my life,” Shaw said.
“This place is obviously very special to me. In the short time I’ve been here, I feel like I kind of made a home here.” GO DEEPER Mason Shaw's 'Wild' journey, through his dad's eyes: 'You can't write that in a script' Shaw played 82 games over parts of three seasons with the Wild, including 20 this past season af.