Hello folks! The other day I was reading a story about Gordie Howe, and I saw the following photo of him with Johnny Bower. I noticed the vintage leaf on Bower's jersey and how nice it looked paired with his old leather goalie pads, which gave me an idea. For the Leafs 100th anniversary, I believe Frederik Andersen should wear retro-style brown goalie gear. We've seen a few goalies wear brown equipment recently for special events like the Winter Classic, but no one has worn them full-time. I think a 100th anniversary season is the perfect time for that to change.
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| Image from Etsy.com |
If Anderson were to use brown gear, he would need also need a retro design for his mask. Off the top off my head I couldn't recall any memorable old-time Maple Leafs masks, so I googled "retro maple leafs goalie masks", and I found a few interesting designs.
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| Image from LegendsOfHockey.net |
The first mask I came across was this beauty worn by Wayne Thomas, who played for the Leafs for two seasons in the mid 70's. Like most retro masks, the design is nice and simple with just a cross and some silhouettes of the Leafs logo, and that simplicity is what makes the mask look so good.
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| Image from ThirdStringGoalie.com |
Doug Favell's mask was even simpler, with just a single maple leaf painted on his forehead. The best part of this design is how the stem of the leaf goes down the nose, which obviously wouldn't work with a modern mask, but I still think a plain mask with the silhouette of the new Leafs logo on the forehead would look pretty sharp.
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| Image from VintageSportsItems.com |
My favourite vintage Leafs mask belongs to Mike Palmateer. It features a diagonal stripe, with jagged edges to mimic the jagged edge of a maple leaf, and once again silhouettes of the Leafs logo. I don't know if the diagonal line would work well with a modern mask, so to update this design I would use a vertical line instead and I'd change the leaves to the shape of their current logo.
What do you think? Would you like to see Frederik Andersen wear retro-looking goalie gear, or do you think I'm completely crazy?
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