Hockey goalie masks have changed dramatically over time. Fifty years ago tomorrow was when the first goalie mask was worn in the NHL. It was Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens, after taking yet another bruising puck to the head. Red Fisher describes that night:

“What happened was that 3:06 into the game, Plante had been struck in the face by a short shot from Rangers right-winger Andy Bathgate, opening a deep, seven-stitch cut running from the corner of the goaltender’s lips through his nostril. Then, after a delay of 21 minutes, he returned to the ice wearing a full-face mask - the first goaltender in NHL history to do so.”

To me the best goalie masks are still the ones from the older days. Most had scarier looks and more simple paint jobs. Flipping through the retro goalie masks shown on hockeymasks.com (where, yes, you can order your own replicas!) and found some great ones. Clicking the link will take you to an image of the mask.

Top favourites:

• Dan Bouchard with the Atlanta Flames
• Wayne Stephenson with the Philadelphia Flyers
• Murray Bannerman with the Chicago Blackhawks
• John Garrett with the Vancouver Canucks
• Yves Belanger with the Atlanta Flames
• Dan Bouchard with the Atlanta Flames
• Richard Sevigny with the Montreal Canadiens
• Richard Brodeur with the Quebec Nordiques
• Billy Smith with the New York Islanders

Other notable goalie masks:

• Ken Dryden with the Montreal Canadiens
• Gerry Cheevers (of course!) with the Boston Bruins
• Gilles Gratton with the New York Rangers
• Mike Palmateer with the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Bernie Parent with the Philadelphia Blaze
• Gary Bromley with the Vancouver Canucks (happy halloween?)
• Doug Favell with the Colorado Rockies
• Doug Favell with the Toronto Maple Leafs
• Grant Fuhr with the Edmonton Oilers
• Bernie Wolf with the Washington Capitals
• Gary Innes with the Washington Capitals
• Curt Ridley with the Vancouver Canucks
• Gary Smith with the Winnipeg Jets

Mostly simple white masks, but still awesome:

• Ed Giacomin with the New York Rangers
• Mike Luit with the St. Louis Blues
• Pelle Lindbergh with the Philadelphia Flyers
• Phil Myre with the Atlanta Flames
• Jim Rutherford with the Detroit Red Wings

The masks of today totally don’t compare to those above, in my opinion. Obviously goalie mask design had to change to keep up with harder shots and better sticks - for safety reasons. Unfortunately that took away from some of the sinister look and uniqueness of goalie masks being worn.

Below is the Jacques Plante story, as retold in a Canadian Heritage moment. He had to stand up to coach Toe Blake who wanted no part of him wearing a goalie mask due to reduced visibility.

Some interesting information on the history of the goalie mask, as told by a goalie mask historian.

The Hockey season has just begun and so have the highlight reel goals. Here’s one from the Boston Bruins “TD Bank Mini 1-on-1″ competition. One more thing, he’s 9 years old: