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 after returning from his fourth ACL surgery.
But both Shaw and Minnesota appeared ready for a fresh start, as he was not given a qualifying offer in the offseason. Shaw said he and Wild president and GM Bill Guerin spoke on July 1, Day 1 of free agency, and there are no hard feelings. “I respected their decision,” Shaw said.
“And they respected mine.” Shaw said he had a few similar offers in free agency — one-year, two-way kind of deals — and decided on joining the Jets. It’s where he thought he’d be most comfortable.
He knows he’ll hear it from fans for joining one of the Wild’s biggest rivals. “I just looked at the map to see what would be the shortest drive to get to the farm,” Shaw said, laughing, referring to his hometown of Wainwright, Alberta. “Because that 18-hour drive back to Wainwright isn’t very fun.
I see the first two preseason games or three will be against the Wild. At the end of the day, it’ll be about competing. Let’s see what happens when the puck drops.
” Shaw feels like he’s an NHL player, but he still has to fight his way onto a roster — again. “I’ve got to go out and prove it,” Shaw said. “I’ve got to prove my health isn’t an issue, that I can play at the highest level.
The summer has been huge for me. The way the season ended here, it was a big success to get back and what I’ve gone through. But I wasn’t playing at the level that I wanted to.
But the summer is going great and I’m going to give it my best shot.” Advertisement While Shaw did contribute in the Wild lineup last season, mostly on the fourth line, he knew he wasn’t back to where he needed to be. It’s hard to get that footspeed back during a season.
“There were days in morning skates last year, obviously you’re fighting to try to get in the lineup every night, right?” Shaw said. “You’re giving it all you can. But you maybe don’t have the step that you’re used to.
And I knew that was going to be the case, having done this too many times. But I feel like, you know, I’m over a year and a half from surgery, and I feel like I’m back to the Mason Shaw I know I can be.” GO DEEPER Big night for Wild 'heart and soul' player Mason Shaw Shaw spent most of the summer in Minnesota, though it was the first time he wasn’t training with teammates at TRIA (he was allowed to work out there and rehab last summer while rehabbing from surgery, even though he wasn’t technically under contract).
Shaw hung out with a lot of his good friends here, from Matt Boldy and Brock Faber to Jake Middleton . Shaw played in a group with Ryan Hartman and Jon Merrill in Thursday’s Hendrickson Foundation golf tournament in Prior Lake. Shaw also went home for a couple of weeks; his sister had a baby recently so he became an uncle.
“It’s something that resets you mentally and it’s always good insight,” Shaw said of going home. “You realize who you’re playing for. Sometimes you feel on an island when you’re going through this.
But it was great to be back.” Shaw said he heard good things about the Jets organization from Nate Schmidt , who he’s played in Da Beauty League with. Adam Lowry has reached out as well, with the two planning to golf together before camp.
“There will be new people, new challenges, opportunities,” Shaw said. “So it’s a little bit nerve-wracking. But at the same time, it’s exciting.
” Shaw said he’ll look forward to when the Wild are on the road in Winnipeg and he can have a beer and dinner with the guys. And those Minnesota fans, the ones he took photos with and signed autographs for Wednesday night, will always be in his heart. Advertisement “If you told me back in 2017 that I’d get part of 2-3 seasons with the Wild, shoot, I’d pinch myself, like you were lying,” Shaw said.
“Nothing but good memories. It’s where the dream became a reality for me. I grew up a lot and got a taste of what the NHL is like.
It’s an addicting taste, and I want to keep it going. “I can’t say I had a 10 year-(run) like ( Matt Dumba ), but I feel like my time here was very special. It’s exciting to see what the future holds, but, for now, this is home for many reasons.
So many good people around me that are very special. “I’ll miss it for sure.” (Top photo: Brace Hemmelgarn / USA Today).
