Masks

I find goalie masks to be absolutely fascinating--and could even be considered quite beautiful in some cases. I guess my fascination began way back when Gerry Cheevers was the goalie for the Boston Bruins. His mask looked like this:


Cheevers was the first goalie to decorate his mask. After he took a shot to his face during practice, the trainer painted stitches on the mask where he would have gotten cut if he hadn't been wearing a mask. After that, stitches were added after every face shot. And that was the beginning.

I believe every goalie in the NHL--as well as college, etc--has a painted mask these days. That is, except for Chris Osgood from Detroit. He now stands out because of the lack of artwork--which he prefers. Not much to look at, but unique.


Most goalie masks have some meaning for the wearer. Some are deeply personal and most have a connection to the team he plays for. ALL are very interesting, colorful, and, no doubt, horrendously expensive!

Cam Ward--Carolina Hurricanes

Manny Fernandez--Boston Bruins

Rick DiPietro--New York Islanders


Nikolai Khabibulin--Chicago Blackhawks


Manny Legace--St. Louis Blues


Josh Harding--Minnesota Wild

You can find a photo-gallery of 39 masks here--these were from last season. Here is another gallery from SI--from a couple of years ago, I think. You will find some of the same masks and a few different ones. Some of the goalies pictured in these galleries are no longer in the NHL or with the teams listed. Always changing.

As I said, there are reasons for what is painted on a goalie's mask and here you can find the stories behind some. (Click on the picture to zoom in and read the captioning.) A very interesting read.

And for the person who wants even MORE to look at, here is a listing of past masks. Again, some are just amazing.

Posted in: hockey