With it being NHL goalie week, it got me thinking about nostalgic goalie masks worn by Colorado Avalanche/ Quebec Nordiques netminders over the years. Of course there are the famous masks league wide – Cujo’s dog, Belfour’s eagle, Hasek’s unique, Soviet era style, mask – and some classic masks that aren’t so famous. With the vibrant color scheme of the Quebec Nordiques and the uniqueness of the Colorado Avalanche scheme, the team has had quite a few entertaining masks – some even iconic.
The first goalie mask worn full time was by Jacques Plante in 1959. Since then, the goalie mask has taken on an aura of its own, helped by unique paint schemes which honor the player, the team and sometimes both (think Felix Potvin’s mask that changed colors with each team).
A top ten list of greatest masks is far too subjective to fit into five hundred words, but we’d be remiss not to mention at least a few of the great goalie masks in organization history.
Memorable masks of the Quebec Nordiques
As subjective as it may be, there are undeniably some great goalie masks of the Nordiques era, starting with the all-time classic Igloo theme of Stephane Fiset. Fiset played parts of six seasons in Quebec and one as a member of the Avalanche. A quality goaltender, he’ll forever be remembered for his Nordique logo bursting through the ice cubes.
Ron Hextall had a few different mask designs while playing his one season in Quebec, including a plain white mask and then a creative one featuring a snarling polar bear. Hextall, known for his ornery ways, was well represented by a snarling polar bear, as he amassed 56 penalty minutes in 54 games in Quebec.
Another journeyman goalie with a mask to remember was Garth Snow during his time in Quebec. He sported a mask painted blue with yetis on each side of the mask and the Nordiques logo on the chin area. Although he only played seven games with the team, his mask made an impact all its own.
Memorable masks of the Avalanche
This list has to begin with the mask adorned by Patrick Roy. His Montreal mask was an all-time classic, and the Colorado one did not have as much allure as that one admittedly, it did have some memorable mountains with avalanches rolling down to the chin area. He also had his customary “33” on there.
Roy helped win the franchise’s First Stanley Cup as well. Darcy Keumper, another Stanley Cup winning goalie for the Avs, also had Avalanches rolling down to the side of his mask down to his number on the chin area. Possibly an ode to Roy, possibly a key to lifting the Cup.
Swiss goaltender David Aebischer had a memorable mountain man, abominable snowman with gritted teeth on his mask along with some rolling snow down the jawline of the mask into the Avalanche logo at the chin.
Aebischer was a quality goaltender for the team in the early 2000’s, playing 174 games with 2.35 goals against average and .915 save percentage.
Recency bias says Scott Wedgewood’s new design is a creative one, with his mask picturing his kids and dogs sledding down snowy slopes on one side of it, the Avalanche A logo on the other side.
Goalie masks have taken on a sensation of their own since their inception. Some get creative, showing some of the player’s personality on their mask. It’s the only position that a player can showcase some of their personality illustratively.
Even more so, mask creation has become big business. Some famous mask painters have come into mainstream culture recently, including DaveArt, a Swede who paints many of the masks we see in the NHL today.
One can get a mask painted for up to $1,000, but for famous, highly coveted mask painters, appointments need to be made.
Iconic goalie masks will forever be a part of hockey culture. They represent players, teams and eras of the game. It’s something fathers and sons can bond about, families can discuss, and memories can be made based off these masks.