Ever since the NHL mandated masks for goaltenders, goalies have been figuring out methods to modify them. Jacques Plante helped design his own mask that became the very first one worn in an NHL game, Gerry Cheevers put a stitch on his white face shield on the spot he got hit, and Doug Favell became the first to paint his mask when he threw some orange stripes on his white mask while playing with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Presently, the introduction of a new mask design is a major occasion. Linus Ullmark’s new mask for the Ottawa Senators in 2024–25 may be the best illustration of how goalies and artists collaborate to produce the ideal player and club combination.
Ullmark’s arrival was exciting in and of itself, but watching his mask incorporate so many characteristics that Senators fans are accustomed to will undoubtedly make him one of the most well-liked goalies in Ottawa in recent memory. Let’s examine the masks that served as the model for his new design in more detail as well as how those components relate to the rich history of goalie masks used by Senators.
Dominik Hasek’s inclusion among the three masks Ullmark cited looks a little out of place. It’s only a red cage with the insignia of two Senators on the sides that have been significantly altered, after all. However, there can occasionally be beauty in simplicity, and this mask perfectly captures that. Paradoxically, it was one of his most intricate masks to date. In 2004, “The Dominator” donned a generic cage mask embellished with a few tiny pearls before travelling to Ottawa. He wore a black mask with a little emblem on the front when playing with the Buffalo Sabres. However, he painted two huge winged wheels on either side of a crimson mask when he joined the Detroit crimson Wings. Regretfully, he and his recognisable mask appeared in just 43 games for Ottawa before returning to Detroit in 2006
