Mike Smith unveils new goalie mask
6 years ago
Again, the big story of the Flames’ offseason has been their new looks in the net. With the combination of Mike Smith and Eddie Lack, perhaps they’ve found a working pair that could push them higher places than last year.
But we won’t know what Smith and Lack will look like until the season beings in just over a month from now. However, we are starting to know how they will look. Both new Flames netminders unveiled their pads about a month ago, but now the real flashy pieces are coming out. Goalie masks, certainly the space with the most potential and visibility for personal creative expression in all of sports and one of hockey’s most unique and celebrated quirks, are starting to be finalized and revealed, starting with Mike Smith’s new mask.
Designed by Dave Arrigo, Smith’s collaborative partner since 2007, the mask pays tribute to the Stampede and Calgary in general. The sides feature Smith’s children riding a horse and riding a chuckwagon, all wearing Flames cowboy hats. The back is a cartoon-y rendering of Calgary’s skyline (click on the link in the tweet for more pictures). According to Arrigo, the mask took four days to paint.
Smith’s new mask follows a recent theme in his helmet art, adding images of his young children on the side, seen here in Arizona:
SUNRISE, FL – MARCH 23: Connor Murphy #5 of the Arizona Coyotes chats with teammate Goaltender Mike Smith #41 during a break in the action against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on March 23, 2017 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images)
Noticeably absent from his new mask is some sort of specific cultural reference, a consistent trend in his NHL career. In Arizona, he always had Wile E. Coyote somewhere on his mask.
GLENDALE, AZ – FEBRUARY 18: Goaltender Mike Smith #41 of the Phoenix Coyotes in action during the NHL game against the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena on February 18, 2012 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Stars 2-1 in overtime. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Sometimes, that trend goes to odd places. Smith has had a history of putting faces on his masks, once sporting Alice Cooper’s face during Kachina night…
… and Garth Brooks’ face in Dallas.
DALLAS – JANUARY 22: Mike Smith #41 of the Dallas Stars looks on during the NHL game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at the American Airlines Center on January 22, 2008 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Expressing his pop-culture tastes on his head has been a consistent trend throughout Smith’s career, dating back to his early days in the league, as demonstrated on a mask with Storm from X-Men:
RALEIGH, NC – APRIL 09: Mike Smith #41 of the Tampa Bay Lightning takes a break during a time out of an NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes on April 9, 2011 at RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Gregg Forwerck/NHLI via Getty Images)
He’s also had masks that include references to the Saw movies (in Tampa), the Grinch (in Dallas), Frozen, and Suicide Squad (2017 All-Star game). The gallery on Arrigo’s website has every single collaborative result, if you want to check it out.
Eddie Lack has yet to reveal his mask, but hopefully it still has the Swedish Chef he’s incorporated in his last two masks.
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