Top 10 Goalie Masks of the 2000s

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 12, 2011

Top 10 Goalie Masks of the 2000s

Evgeni Nabokov

Clearly, "Nabby" felt sharks were good enough to devour his nickname, but not quite as intimidating as the ghoulish creatures surrounding his mask.

Kari Lehtonen

Lehtonen's Kill Bill mask featuring The Bride and O-Ren Ishii debuted during the 2006-07 season. In January 2009, ''Lehts'' went with a more recent film character, The Joker, portayed by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight . Is it just a coincidence the Finnish team he played with before coming to the NHL was called Jokerit Helsinki?

Marty Turco

While Turco's masks have changed over the years, one constant always remains: a gargoyle perched atop a brick wall. The reason, according to Turco: "Because the gargoyle is the gatekeeper, the net protector. He's standing over top of what I want to be."

Peter Budaj

During the 2008-09 season, Budaj had both home and away masks. One displayed the character Altair from the popular video game Assassin's Creed . The other, titled ''Pure Rage'' by the mask's designer, David Gunarsson, featured a furious ''Red'' Hulk. However, Budaj is probably best known for the depiction of Ned Flanders from The Simpsons on the back of his mask. Being a devout Christian, Budaj was given the nickname "Ned" by an equipment manager years ago, and Flanders has always found a place on his mask since.

Curtis Joseph

Joseph was immediately recognizable on the ice for his unorthodox style between the pipes, but perhaps more so for his masks featuring a snarling dog, drawing inspiration from the Stephen King novel "Cujo," which also happened to be his nickname, derived from the first two letters of his first and last names.

Rick DiPietro

Since 2004, DiPietro's masks have paid tribute to the U.S. armed forces and veterans. His father, a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, was the inspiration behind DP's masks. And the fact that his team plays in an arena called the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum is not lost on the patriotic netminder.

Andrew Raycroft

During a two-year stint with the Maple Leafs (2006-08), Raycroft sported a mask acknowledging the history of a franchise based in the hockey capital of the world. Said Raycroft: "The mask paid tribute to former Leafs like Felix Potvin, Mike Palmateer, Johnny Bower, Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour, and then it had Maple Leaf Gardens right in the middle. Frank Cipra painted it and he did an unbelievable job with the faces. They were extremely real and they were some really good profiles. That was the one creative idea I've ever come up with so I'm proud of that one and it seemed to go over pretty well."

Curtis McElhinney

McElhinney went with two common associations with Calgary: its team, the Flames, and an old Western tradition. Intense skulls, fire effects and a skeleton cowboy unloading his six-shooter through the right ear hole pretty much says it all.

Vesa Toskala

There have been plenty of skulls appearing on masks over the years, but never one quite so demonic -- with glowing blue eyes and jagged teeth almost too big for their mouth. This is arguably the mask most likely to give children nightmares.

Josh Harding

The top goalie mask of the decade is hands down the ultimate goalie tribute mask to date. Massachusetts-based mask artist Mike Myers painted a collage for Harding (first seen in 2006) depicting classic goalie masks worn by hockey's greatest goalies, including Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, Gerry Cheevers, Tony Esposito, Terry Sawchuk, Pelle Lindbergh and Ed Giacomin.