Price Makes Best Masks Of The Decade List

While the Carey Price era officially came to a close on Friday when the Montreal Canadiens traded their former all-star goaltender’s contract to the San Jose Sharks, the netminder marked the Habs’ history in more ways than one. In a recent Instagram post, the goalie made NHLhistory’s list of best masks of the decade with one spectacular mask.

Generally speaking, the best masks in Canadiens history have a classic look to them, be it Ken Dryden’s red, white, and blue bullseye mask or Patrick Roy’s C33 one; the Montreal goalies rarely take the road less travelled, but in 2021, Price did.

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Calgary-based airbrush artist Jordon Bourgeault was the mind behind the goalkeeper’s famous biomechanical skull mask. It was so spectacular that the following season, then-Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom ordered one just like it, but in the Flames’ colours.

Price’s most original bucket was a mixture of Canadiens history and modern design. The skull and its cyborg-like quality were obvious. Still, on one side, it featured a control board and wires, indicating that Price was channeling the attributes of Patrick Roy, the late Georges Vezina, Jacques Plante, and Ken Dryden. The dates of the team’s Stanley Cup wins, a reflection of Maurice “Rocket” Richard, and on the black plate, a mention “Made in Canada-Fabrique au Canada” around the Canadiens’ old Maple Leaf logo.

The piece of art won the Best Goalie Mask Award in the 2021 NHL Fan Choice Awards, and even though it was Bourgeault’s first NHL mask, it opened the door to plenty more. In a June 2021 interview with CTV News, he mentioned that he would like to do one for local goaltender Markstrom, and his wish came to be the very next season.

Over the years, Price has had plenty of different masks, but none more original than that one. The Jacques Plante Heritage Classic was quite original, but wasn’t as well-received. Most of his other efforts featured the Canadiens’ logo and had a traditional look; of those, the one with a C31 was a nice wink to Roy’s iconic mask.

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