Masks unmasked

Montreal author Jim Hynes’s new book examines
the design, history and enduring appeal of
goalies’ most treasured piece of equipment

GAME FACES: (clockwise from top left) Tony Esposito,
Chicago Black Hawks, 1969/’70; Grant Fuhr, Edmonton Oilers,
1983-’85; Steve Shields’s Gerry Cheevers tribute, Boston Bruins,
2002/’03; Brian Hayward, San Jose Sharks, 1991/’92

The idea of stopping a booming slapshot with your cheekbone isn’t a good one, but for some reason, hockey goalies did, for decades. The result? Ugly, ugly people, nervous wrecks and alcoholics.

After having his face smashed one too many times—this time by New York Ranger Andy Bathgate—Montreal Canadiens goalie Jacques Plante made his mythical facemask debut on Nov. 1, 1959. It literally changed the face of the sport forever.

Since then, goalie masks have become as individual as the goalies who wear them. In a new book, Saving Face: The Art and History of the Goalie Mask, Montreal author Jim Hynes and goalie mask guru Gary Smith of Grand Falls, NB, look at the evolution of the mask, from the first one ever used in a game (by Montreal Maroons goalie Clint “Praying Benny” Benedict, after a screened Howie Morenz shot broke his face in 1930) to the highly personalized ones in today’s game. It’s a sweeping, stunning book, designed by local company Griffintown Media, and Hynes says he was surprised no one had done it before.

“I’d go into the hockey section of Chapters or something, and it was all pretty stale,” he says. “I was looking to do a hockey book, but I wanted it to be something original.”

As he began researching the book—mostly by reading old articles and previously published books—he discovered the greatest single resource in the form of Smith, who would eventually become the co-author. Neither knew the other, and Hynes says the two met in person for the first time the night before the book’s Montreal launch.

But the book would not have been possible without the assistance of the Hockey Hall of Fame, where many of the most famous masks are stored. Hynes convinced the Hall to take down their existing displays and had a photographer re-shoot the masks, with the lighting and backdrop of their choosing. (Of course, the Hall now has a whole new set of photographs.)

For the record, the 43-year-old Beaconsfield resident’s favourite mask of all time is Ken Dryden’s first mask he wore as a rookie in 1971. And while today’s masks are infinitely more elaborate than their predecessors, it is not difficult to discern the authors’ fondness and preference for the older ones.

“The old ones are my favourite. The new ones are so busy,” he says. “They’re like those side-of-a-van paint jobs.”

SAVING FACE: THE ART AND HISTORY
OF THE GOALIE MASK, BY JIM HYNES
AND GARY SMITH, JOHN WILEY &
SONS, HC, 160 PP, $38.95