So Icey: The Ten Cooleset NHL Goalie Mask Designs

Image via Complex Original

NHL goalies are known for their helmet designs, but for whatever reason, a lot of masks today look like Ed Hardy messes of glitter, corny effects, and horrid "photorealism". Chuck Norris on your mask? It sounds great, but nope. Masks used to be a lot cooler, click on the gallery above to see the greatest NHL goalie mask designs from hockey history.

10. Kirk McLean, Vancouver Canucks. Griffin mask designed by Frank Cipra, 1995-97.

McLean was one of the best style goaltenders of all time, and he donned a Scottish griffin on each side of his mask as well as his clan's plaid on the back. Plaid is still cool, right?

9. Ed Belfour, Chicago Blackhawks. Eagle mask designed by Todd Miska, 1990-92.


Upon seeing Ed Belfour's eagle mask, painful Mike Keenan (his head coach at the time) nicknamed Belfour "The Eagle". The moniker along with the eagle design has stuck ever since. There are many different versions of the bird motif by Miska, each becoming busier as Belfour got traded from one team to the next, but Miska's first vector-style eagle was the sickest and perhaps the most intimidating.

8. Robb Stauber, L.A. Kings. King of Spades mask designed by Ed Cubberly, 1993-1994.


The mid ’90s Los Angles Kings were great because of their iconic jersey. Such a shame that they butchered the crown logo and scrapped the black/white/silver colorway. Rob Stauber always had a great mask, and the kings of spades playing card graphic was sick. Unfortunately Stauber's career was much more low card.

2. Gerry Cheevers, Boston Bruins. Stitches mask designed by Gerry Cheevers, 1970-80.


This could be the most iconic mask of all time, and it's also the scariest. After getting hit in the mask by a puck during practice, Cheevers sharpie penned a stitch mark denoting where the puck had hit. He would continue to draw on a stitch every time he took a subsequent puck to the head. An edition of one, the white mask became his career-long work in progress.

3. Stephane Fiset, Quebec Nordiques. Igloo wall designed by Frank Cipra, 1992-94.


Known as one of the most recognizable masks pre ’90s. The design is cold as ice, and was the first to incorporate the "brick wall" theme seen throughout masks over the years. Fiset's career melted and so did the so did the Nordiques by getting contracted to Colorado in 1995.

4. Murray Bannerman, Chicago Blackhawks. Designer unknown, 1980-1985.


Not only was this design a three-dimensional paint job of the Blackhawks logo, it also had an underlying reference to Japan's Kabuki culture. Sinister, spooky, and sophisticated.

5. Mike Richter, New York Rangers. Liberty mask designed by Ed Cubberly, 1997.


This mask is supposedly in the NHL HOF. Lady Liberty front and center. Mike Richter was the Rangers version of Derek Jeter.

6. Kelly Hrudey, L.A. Kings. Makeshift Jofa helmet-mask, art direction by Kelly Hrudey, 1992-1993.


The most ridiculous goalie mask of all time was designed to match Kelly Hrudey's ridiculous goaltending style. This super simple design with the huge crown logo killed it in the O.G. Kings colorway. Hrudey wore it all the way to the epic Cup Finals of the 92/93 season.

7. Dwayne Roloson, New York Islanders. Tribute mask designed by Jesse Acciacca, 2011.


One of the only decent style masks from this NHL season, but you can see how this ultra-modern look can be kind of whatevs. Acciacca does do work for Motley Crue, so that kind of tells you what’s up with modern hemet design. What's more important here however, is the bold use of New York Islander colors, including the matching orange on the cage. Unfortunately for Roloson, he got traded about a week after debuting this mask.

1. Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadians. Beanie on mask, designed by Jose Theordore, November 22, 2003.


Stunning the hockey world during the very first NHL Heritage Classic, the Montreal net-minder put a beanie on it. Simply effortless. Genius use of mixed media. LOL. Theodore told designers to eff off and replaced fashion with style on the rink.