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Greatest Masks of All-Time
The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.
Capital creativity
CAREER FILE Brent Johnson AGE 31 GP 226 W-L 99-88 SO 13 GAA 2.62 PCT .902 A change in goalies means a change in masks in the District of Columbia. Newcomer Jose Theodore, who donned gargoyles in Colorado, isn’t sure what he and noted mask artist Frank Cipra will concoct for his Washington Capitals debut in October. But here’s a hint: Eagoyles, anyone? “I’m not really sure yet, to be honest. I might switch to an eagle, since that’s part of the logo, or I could keep the gargoyle,” said Theodore, who signed a two-year, $9-million deal with Washington in July. “But I could put the eagle and the gargoyle together.” In the nation’s capital, you don’t get any more American than the eagle, which already incorporated into the Capitals’ logo. “I like something that’s team or city-related, which is why I…
MASK-ERADE PARTY
Thirty-seven years after he won first prize in the goalie mask-tossing competition, Vic Hadfield is playing it coy. The night of April 8, 1971, the New York Rangers were playing host to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup quarter-final series between the two clubs. As was commonplace in those days, the game was a fight-filled affair. Hadfield, who became the first 50-goal scorer in Rangers history the following season, tangled with Toronto’s Jim Harrison in the second period with the Leafs ahead 2-0. They dropped the mitts again early in the third period and when it became apparent Hadfield was gaining the upper hand, Leafs goalie Bernie Parent left his net to come to his teammate’s aid, jumping on Hadfield’s back and touching off a brawl. From the midst of…
Rebel yell for Pascal
CAREER FILE Pascal Leclaire AGE 25 GP 113 W-L 41-49 SO 10 GAA 2.71 SP .911 Is that an advancing Union soldier on the side of Pascal Leclaire’s mask, or Cap’n Crunch moving in on the forecheck? It’s a soldier, Leclaire said. But the 19 Civil War major generals from Ohio would twist in their graves if they knew the origin of the character. Leclaire said he wanted a soldier on his helmet as a link to the Blue Jackets’ nickname, an homage to Ohio’s rich Civil War past. Five Ohio soldiers in the war were later elected President of the United States; the state suffered the highest per capita casualties of the War; and the blue jackets (get it?) worn by the Union soldiers were produced in Columbus. All of this explains the booming cannon in Nationwide Arena. Turns out,…
Penguin power
CAREER FILE Marc-Andre Fleury AGE 23 GP 173 W-L 76-67 SO 11 GAA 2.95 SP .905 Nobody can accuse Penguins goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury and Dany Sabourin of having a lack of creativity when it comes to their mask designs. Start with Fleury, who has a penguin busting through blocks of ice (“like an igloo,” he says) on the forehead of his mask. His No. 29 is painted in large numerals on the chin. Elsewhere on the mask you’ll find a flower – Fleury’s last name in French means “blooming flower” and his teammates call him “Flower.” On the backplate there’s a fleur-de-lis – the traditional symbol of France and his native province of Quebec – along with the initials E.F.G.T., for his late grandparents, Estelle, Francois, Gaston and Therese. The simplest part of the mask is the cage design on the front,…
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