TSN continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the debut of the goalie mask by looking at some of the more creative designs in today's NHL.
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price has had his share of new looks when it comes to the design of his masks; from a rodeo theme to the 'American Legends' mask which paid tribute to his country idols, Garth Brooks and George Strait.
But now the Vancouver native, in his third season with the bleu, blanc e rouge, has bucked the western look and opted to go with something a little edgier.
''Every goalie has a different personality and you can portray that through your helmet a lot of the times,'' Price said of his latest art work.
The new mask, which Price debuted two weeks ago in the Habs' home opener, has two common themes amongst his previous head protectors - the CH logo on the forehead and a cross located somewhere in the art work.
This installment in Price's collection has the CH front and centre and has a lightning bolt striking the top of a Celtic cross, which is painted on the head plate of the mask.
''That's one thing that hasn't changed,'' Price explained of his desire to have a cross on his helmets. ''It's probably something that I'll always have on my mask.''
But that's where the similarities end.
The predominant deep red backdrop, which was chosen to complement the goaltender's new equipment, features the Grim Reaper riding a chopper on each side, with six aces of spades which appear to be burning. On the chin of the mask is a stylized, half-mirrored name PRICE with skulls in the background.
''[The design] wasn't really planned out that much,'' explained Price. ''There were a few different ideas that the artist threw out; like the ace of spades, the Grim Reaper, and the chopper and I thought it looked pretty cool. I've always been a big fan of motorbikes, especially choppers, and I though it looked really cool, so I threw it on there.''
On the head plate is a reference to the Carson Kolzig Foundation, an initiative created by recently retired goaltender Olaf Kolzig to raise money for autism research. Kolzig's son, Carson, is affected by the neural development disorder.
Unlike the majority of goaltenders in the NHL, Price is anything but superstitious. That might explain why he's comfortable making so many changes to his mask over the years.
''I've never been a superstitious person. My whole life I've never really done anything that's superstitious,'' said Price. ''I thought I'd change concepts just to change it up a little bit.''
Superstitious aside, the darker, edgy new mask will need to translate to success on the ice. With a 2-5 record and a 3.44 goals against average on the season, Price may hope that a change in head wear will result in a change in his on-ice performance.