I recently took a tour of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and since I was pressed for time I decided to make it a goalie-specific tour. If you haven’t made it to the HHOF then I strongly recommend you scrounge up your pennies for a trip to Toronto to see this shrine to everything hockey. I’d say go see a Leafs game while you’re in town but why ruin a good vacation?
The HHOF is divided into sections that culminate with the grand trophy room. A thorough tour should take at least two hours if you really want to soak in the experience. My goalie tour is divided into sections as well but they don’t necessarily correspond to the groupings you’ll see there. And remember, what you see in the HHOF is only a small fraction of the Hall’s collections so some of what you see here won’t be on display when you visit. On the other hand you’ll probably see things I didn’t.
Masks – Grand Entrance
This will be the best part of the tour for any goalie… and technically it’s free! The grand entrance to the HHOF takes you past a number of display cases showing off the best and most important goalie masks in NHL history. This display is the best way for NHL goalies to make it to the HHOF without having a Hall of Fame career!
You have to walk past this display, as well as a pretty impressive puck collection, to get to the ticket cashier so if you really wanted to you could see the masks without paying a dime. This is like having the Mona Lisa on display in the entrance to the Louvre!
Not the original mask worn by Jacques Plante but the one he considered his favorite. An upgrade from his original solid fiberglass mask, this model allowed much-needed ventilation. He continued to build upon the pretzel concept in the years to come.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the first game played by the Montreal Canadiens, just one month after the 50th anniversary of Canadiens’ goalie Jacques Plante first wearing a goalie mask. I recently took a tour of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto where they had set up a beautiful tribute to the Habs’ centennial. My attention, of course, was centered on the goalies featured in the exhibit. In case you didn’t get a chance to visit the HHOF before the exhibit ended you can at least view the important parts here.
What a great way to enter the Habs Centennial exhibit! If you watched the Habs during the 1970's the only image more lasting than Ken Drydens's famous pose is that of the Cup being lifted again and again. And then again and again and again and again. What's the opening bid for this statue when the exhibit ends?
November 1st marks the 50th anniversary of the first time a goalie, Jacques Plante, wore a mask in an NHL game. Not quite the same as Willie O’Ree breaking the NHL’s color barrier, or even the addition of the forward pass – a rule cursed by goalies ever since – but a landmark event in hockey history. Plante went on to revolutionize the mask from his original solid fiberglass cutout to the version worn by many pros in the 70′s. Along the way Doug Favell painted his mask for Halloween and in the process an art form was born.
On November 1st 1959 Jacques Plante became the first NHL goalie to wear a mask in a game after being cut for seven stitches.
November 1st, 2009
Categories: Uncategorized. Tags: andrew raycroft, bernie parent, bunny laroque, curtis joseph, dominic hasek, eddie belfour, gary bromley, Gerry Cheevers, gilles gratton, Jacque Plante, jeff hackett, jiri crha, john davidson, kelly hrudey, ken dryden, martin gerber, mike palmateer, murray bannerman, patrick lalime, patrick roy, stephane fiset, stephen valiquette, vladislav tretiak, wayne thomas. Author: Regan. Comments: 2 Comments
Bernie Parent just launched an authorized version of his famous mask and took time to talk to TendersLounge about masks, Ray Emery and Pearl Jam.
You can't get more authentic than a mask made from the original mold. Click on the photo for more details or to order one for your favorite goalie.
Parent’s mask is iconic for its simplicity and he is now offering an exact replica of the mask he wore for the Flyers’ first Stanley Cup to his fans. Why now and why is he doing it himself? “Some of the replica masks I’ve seen are very poorly designed and don’t really look like my mask. I want fans to have the real McCoy. We’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of Jacques Plante wearing a mask for the first time so it seemed like a good time to do this.” Parent’s mask was actually designed by Plante, with technical advancements provided by NASA to help absorb and dissipate impact.
Continue Reading
Disney's Chicken Little... now playing in an NHL arena near you!
The sky is falling in Toronto and Vancouver, and things are not much better in the rest of Canada for that matter. The fans in Toronto are clamouring for coach Ron Wilson to make Swedish rookie Jonas Gustavsson the starter after two lackluster performances by Vesa Toskala. In Vancouver the Stanley Cup parade plans have been shelved after Roberto Luongo and the Canucks have not only opened the season 0-3 but have looked terrible in doing so.
Continue Reading
Anderson knows he needs to get down to business in Colorado if he wants to prove he's a true number one.
10. Is Craig Anderson ready for prime time? He showed he could be the go-to guy when Tomas Vokun was hurt last year in Florida and now he gets the chance to prove it in Colorado. But Peter Budaj is ready to show he can still be the guy if Anderson falters.
Continue Reading
October 1st, 2009
Categories: Uncategorized. Tags: cam ward, carey price, craig anderson, cristobal huet, dwayne roloson, goalie preview, goalies, j-s giguere, jonas gustavsson, jonas hiller, jose theodore, martin biron, martin brodeur, pascal leclaire, ray emery, rick dipietro, roberto luongo, semyon varlamov, steve mason, vesa toskala. Author: Regan. Comments: 0 Comments
Maintaining a blog while working long hours at a funded internet startup is difficult; trying to do so with a new baby at home is close to impossible. You may have noticed (I know some of you have because you’ve made me aware of it) little activity recently on TendersLounge, but today I am obligated to sign back into WordPress. A surprisingly large number of you have called/emailed/twittered to get my take on the huge deal signed this week between the Vancouver Canucks and their all-world goalie Roberto Luongo. So after sending out a few emails and tweets I figured it would be better for everyone if I shared my thoughts here.
Roberto Luongo contemplates the prospect of another 13 rainy winters in Vancouver
This is a great deal for:
A) the Canucks
B) Luongo
C) Canucks’ fans
D) the NHL
The obvious answer is A, B and C (and maybe D but probably not). Luongo lands a once-in-a-lifetime contract and Canuck fans are seeing true commitment from management to bring a meaningful trophy to Stanley Cup-less Vancouver.
Continue Reading
