Posted on 05/19/2011 3:46:02 PM PDT by NYer
It began in 1959.
After experimenting with designs off the ice for months, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante felt he had found the right kind of goalie mask to use for protection in a game, but there was just one problem.
He wasn't allowed to use one.
It wasn't just that no goalie before him had ever worn a mask during a game in the NHL, but that his coaches, including head coach Toe Blake, thought it would hinder his vision, and therefore told Plante he would not be able to wear the mask.
Talk about tough love, and especially for a goalie who was on his way to winning his fifth straight Vezina Trophy as the best in the league.
Everything changed on Nov. 1, 1959, in a game against the New York Rangers. Andy Bathgate, a powerful forward for the Rangers, came steaming in on net and ripped a shot off the face of Plante, sending him into the dressing room for repairs.
Plante came back out on to the ice stitched up, but with a mask covering his face. He had found his excuse to wear a mask during a game, and never looked back.
Across the NHL, players, fans and media all felt it was a poor decision on Plante's part. Wearing the mask not only would block his vision and affect his play, but it made him look like he was afraid, and had people questioning his toughness.
Plante didn't care, and soon he wasn't the only goalie to go against the tide and don a mask. Just months later, Boston Bruins netminder Don Simmons became the second goalie ever to wear a mask, and more followed after that.
It became less of a hindrance, and more of a good decision, as they proved they could still play at the highest level while keeping all of their teeth...or whatever ones they had left.
The last goalie ever to play a game without a mask was Andy Brown in 1974; since then it has not only become one of the most obvious rules in the NHL, but the goalie mask is now the most expressive way for a player to show off their personal style and flair.
Designs range from interests they have to intimidating images of animals or creatures, but there is no doubting that the mask is one of the coolest aspects of the game.
Some stick to the same design through their entire career, never changing even when they're traded.
Others, like Carey Price, change designs on a regular basis, whether for a special event or holiday (you'll remember his Remembrance Day mask that was donated to charity after he wore it in game) or just to change things up.
The goalie mask has evolved incredibly since that November night in 1959, and over time we have been gifted with some impressive displays of creativity and design, though love is still shown to the original, old-fashioned style mask, too.
Here are the The 50 Best Goalie Mask Designs in NHL History.
We'll start off the list with a questionable one, as it's tough to decide whether Chico Resch's mask actually looks cool, or if it's just the vintage aspect of it talking.
We'll go with good-looking, just to keep it real, but Resch's mask does sort of resemble an arm cast that a 12-year-old has been wearing for two months.
The weird lobster-shaped figure in the middle of it is actually a map of Long Island. I promise.
This visionary piece of brilliance is made complete with orange highlights around various holes in the mask, just to make it that much more cheesy looking.
Turns out a fan actually painted it for him, which explains a lot. Seriously, I promise again.
It got beat up pretty quick, but that just might be because it was made out of paper and bubble gum (okay, that I don't promise).
On to the 49 other best-designed masks in NHL history...
Just in case you forgot where Kelly Hrudey was playing, he took the liberty of reminding everyone exactly where he was: Hollywood.
As the backstop for the Los Angeles Kings, Hrudey was known for the bandana he would always wear under the helmet, but the helmet itself was impressive to look at.
The movie reel and Hollywood Hills brought a lot of attention to his mask, just as it does to the city, and I'm sure the size of the mask alone made it easier for Hrudey to make saves. That thing was huge.
He now does work with CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, which means he still gets all the camera time he wants, but there was no denying that he enjoyed his playing time in LA.
No word if he's gone as far as getting a giant Hollywood tattoo yet, but I'm sure we'll hear about it if it happens.
To be a goaltender in the NHL takes some serious guts, but in the case of former Tampa Bay Lightning goalie, Karri Ramo, it also takes brains.
He took the mask design in a completely new direction when he had his brains literally seeping out of the top of his bucket.
The brain painted on the top of the mask is hot pink and stands out from right across the rink, and he is certainly the first goalie to ever go the bulging-brain route.
A creative design, though, and one that was put to the side once he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in the offseason.
He hasn't played a game for them yet, so we haven't seen much of the mask he's currently wearing, but here's hoping he's taken his painted-on brains along with his skills to Montreal, and we'll get to see them soon enough this season.
In my opinion, it looks more like an Asian woman-themed headdress (I think it's the eyebrows) than a mask for the Chicago Blackhawks, but no matter what it looks like it's for, the work is well done.
Murray Bannerman played his entire seven-season career with the Blackhawks from 1980-87, and compiled 116 wins during that time. His mask, though weird-looking, sure was unique and got people talking when he started wearing it in the early '80s.
It's hard to tell exactly what all the markings are supposed to be, other than supposedly being Native American-styled, but the fact that they were similar to those shown on the jersey suggested that someone involved with it knew what they were doing.
It's the kind of mask that has you looking at it, wondering what exactly it's supposed to be. But maybe, just maybe, that's the point.
Felix Potvin played the first seven seasons of his career for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he brought with him one of most street-hockey-like masks we've ever seen.
It was simple, straightforward, and had no flashy images or cat figures (to go along with his nickname, Felix The Cat), but looked great with the uniform.
Like his play, the mask was smooth. Potvin is still known as one of the most popular goalies to have ever played in Toronto.
He moved on from the Leafs in 1998 and played for the Islanders, Canucks, Kings and Bruins before calling it a career.
Potvin kept the mask all the way through, simply changing the colours to match the jersey he wore.
John Grahame used the oldest trick in the book when it comes to distracting the opponent. What works better than a scantily clad woman?
The answer is nothing.
As a member of the Hurricanes until 2008, Grahame didn't see the ice much, but you can bet he got a ton of compliments about the design.
As far as what else is on the mask, I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anything else on it.
Manny Legace played three seasons with the St. Louis Blues, and instead of focusing on himself in the design, he focused on those who serve the United States every day.
His mask was a salute to the armed forces, policemen and firemen, as well as remembering those who suffer from breast cancer.
It's a classy move by Legace and is a quick reminder that though players are multimillion-dollar athletes, they can still take time to pay tribute to real heroes across North America and the world.
Brian Hayward played in net for the San Jose Sharks. What gave it away?
He joined the team in 1991 but played just 15 games over the next two seasons for them. That didn't matter, though, because Hayward wore one of the most obvious masks we've ever seen, yet it looked so good.
He took the shark look to a new level, wearing an extra-large helmet which made the mouth and teeth seem monstrous. It also took away an extra inch or two of the net from shooters.
With his eyes peering through the wide-open mouth of the shark, fans and players alike loved the design. It's too bad he didn't get to play more, because all the hard work that went into the mask was hardly seen by the public.
And something tells me people couldn't stop thinking of a certain theme song whenever Hayward's mask was in sight. It just has that effect.
........
I grew up watching The Gump play for the MN North Stars. He was a classic. After the NSs left MN I haven’t watched a game since.
There are some real good ones, even saw a “dillo” on one. ;)
Ditto! But each memory is a treasure to share with younger fans. We can remember when US hockey teams were fewer in number and concentrated in the colder states. Now, with air conditioning and indoor arenas, the leagues have expanded south and west. Teams like the Bruins and Black Hawks, have a rich history and that is why I am cheering for Boston to win the cup this year!
Yep.
My mother was born in Canada, but she knew little about her side of the family. After she died in 1990, I managed to track down some cousins in Picton, Ontario and discovered that Tim Horton was a cousin of ours. I had never heard of him prior to that, and up until a trip to meet those cousins, I hadn’t even known that he had started the restaurant chain named after him.
Gotta like it! That WOULD scare the crap out of ya’.
Yeppers. Add a little green camo face paint, and watch the locals not drink out of your canteen....
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