Ssan Jose Sharks goalies let masks do some talking
So, who are those masked men?
The Sharks' fortunes this season might very well depend on new Finnish goaltenders Antero Niittymaki and Antti Niemi. Yet most fans probably couldn't pick either one out of a lineup.
It is the nature of the position, where faces are obscured by masks, for players to be anonymous. But while the high-tech gear is designed for protection -- not to mention basic self-preservation -- those masks do provide an opportunity for goaltenders to make a fashion statement and say something about themselves.
"You want it," Niittymaki said of his mask, "to look good out there on the ice."
His eye-catching design features a gangster theme with two cartoon sharks doing their best James Cagney-style mobster impersonations. It's a subtle tribute to Niittymaki's nickname. (More on that later.)
Niemi's mask has a flame-like pattern that is similar to the one he wore last spring with the Chicago Blackhawks when he was busy extinguishing the Sharks' playoff hopes.
And what is the inner meaning of that motif?
"Don't ask me," Niemi said. "I didn't paint it."
Toronto-based artist David Arrigo did. In fact, he crafted the masks of both the Finns who are now Fins. Arrigo has never met Niittymaki and Niemi -- all their contact comes by phone or through e-mail.
But Arrigo's intricate airbrush work has turned their masks into a canvas that put a splash of individuality and self-expression into a sport that otherwise demands rigid conformity from its players.
Every mask tells a story.
The first basic, fiberglass mask didn't appear in an NHL game until 1959, when Montreal goaltender Jacques Plante -- after catching a slap shot to the face -- refused to return to the ice without extra protection.
By 1974, every goaltender in the league was wearing one. Today, modern caged masks do nothing less than save lives in a sport where pucks made of vulcanized rubber that have been frozen can reach slap-shot speeds of 100 mph.
Along the way, as masks evolved, so did players' creativity. The first design, in addition to being perhaps the simplest, is also the most famous. The Boston Bruins' Gerry Cheevers would have "stitches" drawn on his white mask with a black marker, symbolizing the real-life stitches the mask was preventing.
Over time, mask patterns have become increasingly elaborate as artists such as Arrigo have turned composite marks, which include materials such as carbon fiber and Kevlar, into art work.
Arrigo, a cousin of former Sharks player and assistant coach Rob Zettler, is a recreation-league goaltender himself. He doesn't claim that his designs are windows into goaltenders' souls. But he does think they can provide glimpses into the personalities of the men behind the masks.
"Some hockey purists think the masks have become too much," he said. "But I disagree, because it creates more interest around the goalies. The mask really is an extension of their thoughts."
Take Niittymaki. When he broke into the NHL full time with Philadelphia in 2005, then-Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock anointed him with the nickname "Frank." It was a nod to Prohibition-era henchman Frank Nitti of Al Capone's infamous Chicago gangster outfit.
The goaltender began to adorn his mask with images of the hoodlum, who was reputed to be a brutal enforcer -- and not of the hockey variety, either.
"I never thought in my wildest dreams he would go put it on his bloody mask," Hitchcock said at the time.
Niittymaki explains it this way: "It's not like I was any kind of fan of the guy or anything. But I just thought it was a cool thing for a mask, because it was different."
Arrigo's last mask for Niittymaki when he was with the Tampa Bay Lightning featured the shadowed outlines of mobsters against a brick wall peppered with bullet holes.
Now, after signing a free-agent contract with San Jose this summer, it's toothy wiseguys. The two fedora-wearing sharks have intimidating looks, and one packs a machine gun.
The intent, Arrigo added, was to convey the idea of Niittymaki being the new "big fish in town" after former goaltender Evgeni Nabokov departed. Then right before the start of the season, the Sharks signed Niemi. That meant two goaltending fish were swimming in the Shark Tank, and Arrigo had a week to come up with something for Niemi, who also was a client.
His Blackhawks mask had a tribal flavor, with a pattern that conjured up images of feathers on both sides of the mask. Arrigo decided to keep the same basic design -- making it a trademark for Niemi the same way former NHL goaltenders Curtis "Cujo" Joseph and Ed "Eddie the Eagle" Belfour were known for always wearing a snarling dog and fierce-looking bird on their masks.
But he went with a Teal-based color scheme and added two menacing Sharks, both pointing toward Niemi's chin.
"We wanted to keep it the same except with the Sharks theme," Niemi said. "He came up with the idea, and I just added a couple of thoughts."
There also is a bonus design -- if you look closely. Sharks teeth ring the mask opening. Arrigo said after his Niittymaki design hit the Internet, he was struck by how Sharks fans kept referring to Brian Hayward. One of the Sharks' early goaltenders, Hayward peered out between two rows of Jaws-like teeth.
"I was trying to create a tie between the fans and Antti," Arrigo said. "I thought it would be a fun little throwback, and it's entirely based on fan reaction."
Sharks equipment manager Mike Aldrich has to sign off on all mask designs. Arrigo said he avoids anything gory or risqué, but sometimes he still has to make small changes.
For instance, in an early drawing of Niittymaki's mask, one of the sharks was carrying a handgun. It was decided that didn't send the right message, considering the Bay Area's gang problems.
"The last thing I want is anyone finding my masks offensive," Arrigo said.
That's not a problem, Niemi added, of his new mask.
"The key is that it looks good," he said.
Contact Mark Emmons at 408-920-5745.
