Ever since the NHL mandated masks on goaltenders, goalies have been figuring out ways to customize 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.
Now, the unveiling of a new mask design is a marquee event. Goalies and artists work together to create the perfect combination of player and team, and in 2024-25, there may not be a better example of that then Linus Ullmark‘s new mask for the Ottawa Senators. Working alongside artist Dave Fried, who’s worked with several Senators’ goalies, he came up with a way to not only honour his Swedish heritage but also the great goalies who came before him in Ottawa.
Ullmark’s arrival was already an exciting event, but seeing his mask draw on so many elements familiar to Senators’ fans will surely make him one of the most popular goalies in Ottawa in years. So let’s take a deeper look into the masks that inspired his new design and how those elements connect back to a rich tableau of goalie masks though Senators’ history.
Hasek’s Simple-Yet-Iconic Birdcage
Of the three masks Ullmark mentioned, Dominik Hasek‘s inclusion seems a bit misplaced. After all, it’s just a red cage with two slightly-altered Senators’ logos on the sides. But, sometimes, there is a beauty in simplicity, and that’s what this mask nails. Ironically, it was one of the most detailed masks that he wore in his career. Before arriving in Ottawa in 2004, ‘The Dominator’ wore a generic cage mask with some small adornments. With the Buffalo Sabres, he wore a black mask with just a small logo on the front. But when he went to the Detroit Red Wings, he plastered two large winged wheels on either side of a red mask. Unfortunately, he and his iconic mask only played 43 games for Ottawa before returning to Detroit in 2006.
Rate Dominik Hasek’s Ottawa Senators Style ⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/pUExwJ5qPf
— Missin Curfew (@MissinCurfew) January 15, 2023
While most goalies include their team’s logo somewhere on their mask, Hasek was one of the few Senators at that point to feature just the logo. The first to do it was Daniel Berthiaume, who joined the team in their inaugural season and had a simple black mask with just two small logos on either side. But few have stuck with just the logo. Ron Tugnutt had a splatter design he took with him to multiple teams and just added logos on top of, creating a fun combination. There was also Jani Hurme’s logo surrounded by fire, Robin Lehner’s two-tone logo, and Ben Bishop’s greyscale version.
It’s also been common in recent seasons, with Matt Murray opting for a primarily white mask that prominently featured logos on either side and rookies Leevi Merilainen and Kevin Mandolese going for simpler designs that showcased the Senators’ centurion. But no one quite did it as well as Hasek. It’s likely why Ullmark sees it as one of the best masks in Senators’ history, although it helps that is was a distinctive cage mask instead of the typical design.
Anderson Loved a Throwback
Craig Anderson used numerous mask designs during his 10 seasons with the club. Some of his first designs featured cars due to his love of racing and several centurions inspired by the “Rat Fink” art style created by Ed Roth. But in 2016, he unveiled a throwback mask that featured one of the most prominent buildings in Ottawa — the Peace Tower — that lies in the centre of the Parliament buildings.
There's more than meets the eye with Craig Anderson's new throwback mask. pic.twitter.com/8Yc6wQwm37
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) November 17, 2016
While the mask also features Marvin the Martian in the background along with other cool features, the primary design is a direct reference to the mask Damian Rhodes wore during his stint with the Senators. However, his design was just an updated version of Don Beaupre’s mask that featured all the Parliament buildings and a single maple leaf in the background, (when Beaupre was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the deal that brought Rhodes to Ottawa, the design went with him.) Rhodes borrowed the design, but limited the buildings to just the Peace Tower and added two maple leaves on either side, giving the mask a more balanced look. It didn’t hurt that he was much more successful in Ottawa, too, posting winning records in 1997-98 and 1998-99 before joining the Atlanta Thrashers.
Related: The 10 Coolest Old School NHL Goalie Masks
Rhodes (and Beaupre) weren’t the only masks Anderson called back to with his own designs. For the 2016-17 Heritage Classic, he referenced the original Senators’ championships with Clint Benedict, the Senators’ goalie in the 1920s and one of the first goalies to ever wear a mask in an NHL game. Anderson also used the original ‘O’ logo on multiple occasions and honoured the late Bryan Murray on another. His creativity and connection to the team’s history, both official and unofficial, served as an inspiration for Ullmark as he created his own for his first season in Ottawa.
Marvin the Martian and a Bunch of Centurions
While the Senators have had many well designed masks, none can top Patrick Lalime‘s Marvin the Martian, which is why Ullmark chose it for his primary inspiration. The creation of the mask was a perfect storm; Lalime had already shown his affinity for using cartoon characters during his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins, when he featured a penguin breaking out of the ice. So, when he was acquired by the Senators, he opted for the Looney Tunes character because it already wore the Roman god Mars’ helmet, which looks similar to the Senators’ centurion. Thus, an icon was born, and Lalime would carry Marvin with him for the rest of his career.
A couple of other goalies have referenced the Martian in their masks before Ullmark, most notably Joonas Korpisalo, who tucked a little Martian on either side of his shiny centurion helmet, and both Anton Forsberg and Mads Sogaard shared Lalime’s love of cartoons by adding cartoon dogs wearing Roman legionnaire uniforms. However, most goalies who travel through Ottawa draw on the centurion imagery, leading to many interesting designs.
It started back with Peter Sidorkiewicz, who the Senators selected in the 1992 Expansion Draft. He wore a cage for most of his career with the Hartford Whalers, and when he first arrived in Ottawa, he just changed the green to white. But before long, he opted for the traditional mask with a golden centurion’s visor above the eyes. The mask became an instant classic and even though Sidorkiewicz didn’t stick around long, his striking mask did when Craig Billington, who took over the Senators’ crease, copied much of the mask. Martin Prusek took it in a different direction; instead of the Roman helmet, he encircled his birdcage with the Roman Colosseum.
Following Lalime’s departure, many goalies put their own spin on a Roman helmet. Alex Auld updated Sidorkiewicz and Billington’s designs, making the helmet encompass more of the mask, and Chris Driedger took it another step further, adding a skull underneath the helm. Pascal Leclaire placed a mean-looking legionnaire on his, but on the back, he added Snoopy in goalie gear, connecting back to Lalime’s cartoons. Mike Morrison put a fun spin on the Roman angle with a crest displaying the words, “Veni Vidi Vici,” a Latin phrase attributed to Julius Caesar meaning, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” A great motto for a goalie, but not so much for Morrison, who played just four games in Ottawa, winning one of them.
More Inspiration for the Future
There are many more classic masks that could serve as inspiration for future masks. Martin Gerber leaned into his nickname “Darth Gerber” and turned his goalie mask into Darth Vader’s helmet, as did Andrew Hammond, who put the McDonald’s Hamburgler on his mask. Ray Emery featured the boxer Muhammad Ali thanks to his penchant for fighting, and despite his short stay, Cam Talbot had several masks that featured the Demogorgon and Vecna from Stranger Things and Deadpool from the Marvel universe. Could more of these impressive masks show up in the future? It’s tough to predict what will resonate with a goalie, but for now, fans are just happy to see Marvin in goal again.
