The goalie mask has come a long way since it was first used in 1959. At the time, the mask, debuted by Montreal goaltender Jacques Plante was made of fiberglass and was made especially to fit his face. Now, in the interest of not boring everyone to death, lets jump ahead and take a look at some of the masks of our beloved goalies, past and present.
In the history of team, there have been 14 total goalies. Its not all that difficult, but I whittled the list down to a few and came across some interesting stats along the way:
- Of them, only 6 have played more than one season with the team. (Mason, Denis, LeClaire, Norrena, Tugnutt, and LaCosta)
- Of the 7 still in the NHL, 3 are currently Blue Jackets.
- In only his second season, Steve Mason has already jumped into second place in all-time wins. He will be the most successful goalie in CBJ history. (Ok, not a stat, but we know its true)
- Marc Denis holds more records than any other goalie in team history.
- The best winning percentage belongs to Dan LaCosta (2-0, yes, it counts)
Ok, back to business. Every goalie in the league adds his own touch to his mask, whether that be a tribute to a friend or family member, a hobby, a team theme, or just something kickass. Lets look at these goalies and their masks.
Ron Tugnutt
One of the signatures of any Tugnutt mask was the splash on the front. Imagine the effect of getting hit in the face with a snowball. No matter who he played for, he always sported the splash on his mask. He also displayed the team’s logo on the top of his masks. Here are a few of his many different goalie masks.
Pittsburgh mask – it looks to me like someone hit him in the face with a yellow snowball. Gross.
Columbus mask – nothing says intimidation quite like Stinger. Shooters beware!
Marc Denis
Marc had a knack for using his team’s moniker to inspire his mask designs. When he was drafted by Colorado in 1995 he came up with this design. Who knew that if he had played for Minnesota a few years later, he could’ve used the same mask.
When he made the trip to Columbus, he did what seemingly everyone has done, and used the Civil War as his muse, if you will. He was the first goalie to “Carry The Flag” on his headgear.
When Denis moved on to Tampa Bay, he looked to the heavens to and received a gift from god – a Greek god, that is. Marc also had a tendency to sport the good old #30 on the chin of the mask.
Pascal’s Columbus mask took the “Blue Jacket” theme to another level when he coupled it with the sport of hockey. The Union solider on the sides sported a pair of skates and carried a lime green stick (he just had to fit Stinger in there somehow). If you look again, you can also see a small picture of Snoopy on the back. I think I read somewhere that Snoopy was his favorite cartoon character so why not put him on the mask? The old CBJ logo with the red ribbon with stars was wrapped around the bottom.
His Ottawa mask rules. As I am writing this, I’m getting my first look at the new headgear. Its all black with a red and black ribbon around the chin and jawline. Each side features a new and improved Ottawa logo. Picture, for example, the current logo. The character looks very clean and stern. Now inject that guy with about 50cc of steroids, and you get this.
Pazzy’s Ottawa mask gets an A+ from me for sheer badassness.
Mase’s first CBJ mask featured several Union soldies on either side, with the star and flag logo on the right side, and the hat and team name on the left. On the back, he has a tribute to his grandfather who passed away last June. Going on with the trend, he keeps his nickname on the chin. His alternate mask at the time had the same features on the sides and chin, but on the top has a black and white civil war figure.
Just recently this year, Mase debuted a new mask (seen at the top of this story. He kept the theme similar to his other NHL masks, the blue mask has a larger picture of the star and flag logo on the head. Also different on this mask is the style his nickname is written. He put his name on the red, white and blue style Ohio liscense plate. I thought this was really neat considering he got his new Ohio driver’s liscense last summer.
The newest CBJ goaltender has been in the league as long as Columbus has. He’s played in some diehard hockey towns. Starting in Montreal, Garon paid tribute to a Canadien great, Jacques Plante. He was also awfully confident in himself with the brick wall design. If anyone can knows what the full quote is on the chin, please share. I can’t find it anywhere.
His Los Angeles mask is probably my favorite. On the chin, he had the Kings logo and wrapped around the face was a purple and black chess board. This was a very neat look in my opinion. The top and back displayed a knight wearing armor, and wielding a sword and shield.
On his Columbus mask, Garon has his number on his chin. Following in the footsteps of Marc Denis, he has a Union soldier on the top of the mask.
So there’s a brief look into the masks of some of the CBJ goalies. What masks are you favorites? What goalies around the league have masks that stand out to you? Share below.
Which goalie has the best collection of masks?
| Ron Tugnutt | 3 |
| Marc Denis | 2 |
| Pascal LeClaire | 6 |
| Steve Mason | 14 |
| Mathieu Garon | 4 |