Three-quarter profile view of mask that Habs goalie Carey Price is expected to wear into action Saturday against Toronto.
Photo courtesy Colin Page
DAVE STUBBS
The Gazette
His tender groin permitting (and he says it’s no problem), Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will be wearing a new mask when he skates into the abbreviated 2013 season Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The mask arrived at Price’s home Friday by courier from a workbench down Highway 401, delivered at roughly the same time the goalie was receiving treatment in his team’s clinic.
Price’s new lid is not a rainbow of colour nor a hard-shell canvas of outrageous artwork. It doesn’t feature country singers or rodeo horses or even a motorcycle-riding angel of death.
If the stylishly crowned Price has ever worn a “classic” look, this is it.
There is absolutely nothing fancy here – just a predominantly white helmet with a large Canadiens logo on the right side, its mirror image on the left, Price’s No. 31 in the middle of a C on the chin, and red, white and blue half-logos on the top.
Toronto’s Steve Nash, who in his Eyecandyair studio specializes in the phantasmagorical airbrush creation of goalie masks – in fact, a helmet onto which a protective cage is bolted – took the job of cooking up something for Price on very short notice.
Indeed, there’s another mask currently being prepared in Sweden by legendary Dave Gunnarsson of Daveart Designs. But the uncertainty of the lockout’s end made it impossible to have that one finished and shipped to Montreal in time for the season.
“When it became clear that his Daveart mask couldn’t be ready, I asked Carey, ‘Did you really want to wear a new one?’ ” said Wess Perisa, who handles sponsorships, appearance and charity endeavours for Price and eight other Canadiens.
“He said, ‘Yeah, man, I did,’ so I got on the hunt to source someone else who could make the season-opener a possibility.”
The pool of high-end mask designers is a shallow one. Having Nash in Toronto, near Perisa and sensitive to deadline, sealed the deal.
Price threw out ideas about what he’d like and Perisa brought them to Nash, who kicked into creative gear. The mask on which he would design and paint was shipped out of Bauer’s St. Jérôme plant, north of Montreal, only this Monday, put on a train heading west.
It was picked up in Oshawa by Perisa, who brainstormed with Nash before the designer immediately got to work. For a few nights, Nash toiled between midnight and dawn as he usually does and on Thursday night he had the finished product picked up by courier, which delivered it to Price’s home by noon Friday.
“It’s a very simple, classic look,” Perisa said of the latest model. “It’s something fans will relate to perhaps more than some of Carey’s masks of the past.
“Steve said, ‘When you have the Canadiens logo, that’s enough. You don’t need to do a whole lot more.’ It’s going to play well off Carey’s (CCM) gear, white with red trim, with blue involved as well.
“Carey tells me what he likes on past masks, the scheme he’s going for,” Perisa said. “I work with the artist, who gets the vast majority of the credit for it. Daveart’s last mask, with flames and chrome, came about because Carey wanted something shiny. We spoke with Daveart to say Carey wanted a torch feel on that one.”
The plan for the new mask had been to send Price sketches Monday night for final approval but time ran out, so it was with trust that this one was produced. The goalie will wear it for a couple of weeks until the new Gunnarson mask arrives, at which point this one will be auctioned for the benefit of the Montreal Canadiens’ Children’s Foundation.
Don’t ask Price how many different masks he’s worn in the 297 NHL games he’s played over five seasons; he probably hasn’t catalogued them all, many of them auctioned for charity.
Surely this list is incomplete, but Price mask themes have run from plain white in his rookie season through the rodeo to country music to a dandy featuring aces of spades with the Grim Reaper riding a chopper through a pile of skulls.
He’s honoured Hall of Fame Canadiens netminders and worn a Jacques Plante tribute model for the 2011 outdoor Heritage Classic in Calgary, the latter including eyes, a bare mouth and a rendering of his own ears that all looked “a little creepy,” in his words.
Price has worn a pink mask that celebrated his First Nations roots while drawing awareness to breast cancer research. He has tugged on one paying tribute to Remembrance Day and another marking the Canadiens centennial.
There have been two a single-game contest pieces, and he’s modelled, though will never play in, a mask produced to promote his association with the Assassins Creed III video game.
Price’s most recent mask, the Gunnarsson flame and chrome model, debuted last March and made it as far as Thursday’s Bell Centre scrimmage, the goalie’s last on-ice work before the 2013 campaign begins.
For all anyone knows, there might even be a sackful of Price masks in the Canadiens equipment room, but there was no chance the 25-year-old was going into this season without an entirely fresh look.
It will be after Saturday’s game – itself a circus given that it’s Game 1 following this season’s lockout – that Price’s fame will truly kick in with 4-year-old Caydance Geroux of Hamilton, Ont.
“Carey recently received a very powerful email on his website from the family of Caydance, who’s been fighting cancer for two years,” Perisa said. “She and her family (parents Mike and Kim and her 5-year-old sister, Raya) will be at the game Saturday and I’ll make sure they’ll have a once-in-a-lifetime experience with Carey and some of the other Canadiens.”
Making such dreams come true is part of Perisa’s work with his hockeyhelps.com organization, which co-ordinates charitable events for the players he represents. On the Canadiens, they would be Price, Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges, Max Pacioretty, Travis Moen, David Desharnais, Colby Armstrong, Brandon Prust and Brendan Gallagher.
Price’s health permitting, the Habs, visiting Maple Leafs and coast-to-coast Hockey Night in Canada viewers will get a good look at the goalie’s new mask when the 2013 season begins Saturday night. Its owner will see it only on the scoreboard or perhaps reflected in the glass, as usual on the inside of the mask looking out.
dstubbs@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: @Dave_Stubbs
Toronto mask designer and painter Steve Nash puts the finishing touches on Price’s mask Thursday.
Courtesy Steve Nash
The reverse side of Price’s mask, bearing a mirror image of the Canadiens logo.
Courtesy Colin Page
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Hockeyyy Insiderrrr is that you?
Go Habs Go!
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Mitch Melnick said “a**hole” on the radio today during the scrum …tee hee
Was he referring to Marinaro when he said it?
That really looks a lot like Roy’s mask….perhaps it will exorcise some of the demons that have been hanging around since his departure
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It’ll always be Habs Inside/Out to me
Wouldn’t get worked up over PK rumors.
This is classic Meehan. He is asking for more than he can get because he is not yet ready to deal
He has done this time and again, using a holdout to gain some leverage for the non-arbitration eligible RFA. He did for Doughty, and Price and many more.
In a week or two he will negotiate in earnest, when there is some pressure on MB. That doesn’t mean PK will get 6×6.5, but it could easily mean an extra .5 per year on a 2 year deal. That’s why he does it and why heist he dominant agent in hockey.
Say it ain’t so PK, Say it ain’t so.
I’m on the outs with PK. I could be okay if he were traded if what we got back was good.
I have NO idea if there is any truth to what Pottyman (whatever) says he knows (that PK wants 6 years x $6.5) but regardless, this holding out on his part is a bad thing for PK to be doing. His agent this week says “we are far apart”. Gee, where did I hear that kind of BS before?? Hmmmm…..
So what I am hearing is that whatever the Habs are offering PK he wants something VERY different from that. Hey PK, how about putting your famous mouth in park, and your ego while you’re at it, and showing that you CAN be a TEAM player by taking a short term deal like Price did, like Patches did, like MOST PEOPLE DO and PROVING YOURSELF.
Suck it PK. Go play for Toronto. They love media clowns there. Almost as much as they love losing. Funny those two things go hand in hand.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Larry signed a bridge contract too btw.
Also, Patches signed a long term contract extension that was kinda under market value for 24 year old 30 goal scorer.
I love Patches deal! It shows he’s willing to take less so the team can have more money to surround him with talent…
hey smartdog… im not asking you to believe me, just get my handle right.
Sorry Pottymonster. Hope I didn’t insult you.
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Listen to the Smart Dog. He knows his poop!
Not very true to the “smart” in this post
Not all oysters produce pearls, thankfully, Price is a pearl producing oyster.
I hope the pottymonster’s wrong on this one but fear there may be some element of truth as some mainstream media have quoted PK asking for Doughty type $$. should PK/Mehan not budge on this i could see a sign and trade or trade. even then I can’t see (hope this to be the case) who the heck would accept this.
this is very poor showing for PK and clearly demonstrates his lack of “team playing” – part of me hopes he gets traded but we need some quality Dmen not picks
Maybe he should not wear a mask so he can see the puck better. Just sayin.
John Carlson signs for 3.9 and PK wants 6.5. If this is true, the Meehan is a pretty shitty agent. Not only is Carlson better right now, his production is higher and the rest of his stats better.
Lock up PK for 6 years, 4.5 per at the highest. 2 years at 3.5.
I’m hoping its a bit skewed, cause honestly his agent and PK are extremely diluted if they think he is anywhere worth that right now.
sitting only makes his game suffer, so he is shooting himself in the foot with that strategy. Prove yourself if you are so confident. If not, sit and see what its really like when you are clueless.
that being said, I hope its inaccurate.
either way, starts tomorrow. So excited
No way is Carlson better.
PK is worth the money and term. He has proved himself to be an integral part of the team, and he will only get better as we ages. PK makes up the core of the Habs’ future and having him happy and locked up for long are all good things.
It is total BS to say that PK is unproven or “selfish.” It’s all part of the sensationalist media narrative that has tended to paint PK as arrogant when in fact he is well-liked in the room and is a plus on every level. His agent clearly knows this, and it’s his job to get PK the best deal for him.
Just watch hockey, it will be resolved before you know it.
Not all oysters produce pearls, thankfully, Price is a pearl producing oyster.
I love PK, but all Habs blinders aside Carlson is better right now.
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☞ The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. ~ Richard Feynman ☜
Pottymonster is either telling the truth or is one helluva talented storyteller. Great stuff!
Nobody believed me when I saw Val Kilmer in the men’s room at Queue de cheval in 1997 either …
Was he pissing excellence?
Kilmer’s the shiznit…
If what Pottymonster is saying is true, Good on Mb for holding out. PK ain’t worth that contract. Yet.
Kristo’s goal scoring streak stopped at 7 games.
Frank, just got in. Read some of the posts below. You mentioned back in the day someone posted a pic of a real person and had a good time with it. That pic was of our Sybil. You might remember that person talk about the ballroom dancing with the suspenders etc and of course his school days at a Catholic school run by the nuns. Does this bring back memories ?
Hopefully ND will play better in the rematch tomorrow. I believe the Score is showing a reply of the game at 8:00 PM Sunday.
–Go Habs Go!–
Top ten rookie years by Hab teenagers;
http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=86147
Isn’t it past your bed time Frank?
Chrisadiens and HabFan10912, one of the few father son tandems on HIO.
Fell asleep after supper, getting old sucks
Friday nights are now for resting “sigh”
2 goals for Collberg today in the Elite League.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
Fantastic news & thanks for the update.
Central Division Preview
http://lastwordonsports.com/2013/01/18/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place-the-big-mick-previews-the-central-division/
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
I like the mask. It says Canadiens, not Carey Price.
New team ethic?
It’s his mask. He is entitled to make it a personal design. It’s Canadiens not Carey Price. Pfft
i will now give everyone here news that they have not heard. it is a legitimate scoop. i know this scoop because i have a friend who works for the canadiens, and he has an office down the hall from marc bergevin. he shares the office with a couple of other people, but he’s on the top floor. i can’t tell you what department he works in, but it is not a player personel department. it is not the cleaning crew either.
we have known each other for at least 15 years now. he’s never told me anything about the habs that turned out incorrect. the reason he has told me the following is precisely because he knows that i am not a reliable source to montreal media. that said, some of you have probably seen me post once in a while, and ive been a member here for at least 2 years and ive been just reading since its inception.
with all that said, here is the scoop:
pk and meehan are asking for 6.5 per year, for 6 years.
marc bergevin has so far made very clear that this contract will not be offered. he is standing fast for a two year deal.
a quote from mb: he was walking down the hall, there are potraits of all the great canadiens players of yore. he walked in to my friends office and said ‘do you see pks photo hanging here? i cant seem to find it.’ he of course was implying that pk has no right to ask for the contract he wants.
pk will sit until he will sign a 2 year deal, or if the team tanks too hard too early.
mb views this as one of his signature moves, not letting the organization bow to player pressure.
there are no ongoing negotiations. meehan or mb will occasionally call the other and talk for a few minutes, and thats it.
mb was also furious when the league and PA changes the rules of the buyouts. he feels he was sold out by bettman on this.
now you know, now you can all debate my credibility which admittedly is already zero. a guy with name pottymonster is clearly just a fool joker.
you’re all welcome.
I call BS
and i have no problem with you calling that. i realize i am not credible. thats just the news as i heard it from a guy on the inside who told me because he knew this was the response i would get.
6.5 for Subban is way too much.
3 years 3.5mil per
If that truly is the case, then I’m on MB’s side here. I’ve been a proponent of PK getting 6 years, but 6.5 a year is nuts.
also, i should add the following. i add it because i never believed it.
PK is way too full of himself. there is apparently some serious questions about whether the organization wants him long term. he’s quick witted and has unlimited self confidence, but it rubs a lot of people the wrong way.
people here already say that, but i never believed it until i heard it from my friend.
all that said, id still sign his ass to 8 years.
With all due respect, I really hope your friend is full of it or you are.
If what you say is true I don’t see PK playing this year and that bums me out.
If he’s so confident why doesn’t he sign a 2 yr deal and then prove himself as an elite D-man. Ask for 7m per year after that.
Chrisadiens and HabFan10912, one of the few father son tandems on HIO.
full agreement about the first part.
id just sign him up now though. better for the team i think.
If this is accurate, Subban is deluded. There’s no way he’s going to make the same as Price–yet. He’s not an all-star francise-type player–yet. In two years it’ll become clear and if he’s that he’ll get his money. I don’t know who’s driving this but if it’s Meehan, then PK is being ill-advised. I tend to think it’s also PK, however, because this guy has a mega-ego. I hope it ends nicely and PK has a long career here but it could be that he’s traded. That’ll be tough for the Habs because it’ll be hard to get a comparable player.
I’d call it poop instead of scoop.
Why is it that I refuse to read people’s opinions and replies, when I don’t see the use of capital letters in their sentences.
Just curious, does that bug anyone else?
They Call Me Shane
“They never asked to be Canadiens, they were Chosen.”
Shane Oliver
Twitter @Sholi2000
http://www.Sholi2000.com
Custom Sports Figures
I don’t get it either sholi. I guess people who dash off a quick one-liner on a hand-held device can be excused for not being bang-on with their punctuation, but on a longer post you should take the time.
Presentation counts. You wouldn’t show up at a dinner party not having showered or shaved for a couple days, it’s impolite and shows lack of respects for everyone else. You want to have your best foot forward. Same goes for posts on HIO. If someone doesn’t care that her post is hard to read and difficult to comprehend, I don’t take it upon myself to expend the extra effort to understand what she’s trying to say.
To be fair sholi, you missed a question mark in your response.
This is a short season and the players hopefully prove most predictions wrong…Most hockey predictors have the team finishing 11th or lower in the conference…Biggest concern is the d….without PK it will be very difficult for this group of d to handle teams that have 2 good scoring lines…While a small sample the 2 games at the Spengler cup vs Canada Diaz looked physically over matched just like last year…Real doubts that this group of d can handle teams like the Rangers,Bruins,Penguins etc…
This team NEEDS Subban. Cannot emphasize more on NEED.
Totally agreed. It’s a shame too because over 48 games, any team that gets hot for a few weeks can get into the playoffs. It could happen without PK, of course. But it won’t.
Alex Edler signs a 6 year 30 M dollars contract extension with the Nucks.
Give PK that deal and away we go.
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
That would be a bargain for PK in 2-3 years, I`d be happy with that.
That for PK? Bargain in 2-3 years as was said, downright larceny in years 5 and 6.
But apparently Don Meehan is aware of this. Stupid Meehan.
in somewhat irrelevant news, steve begin signs with calgary.
good on him, I was one of the only ones here who was disappointed when he got traded…….
I might be mistaken. I’m not enirely sure of this but I remember seeing a pic of a Bruin Goalie (I think it was before my time) wearing a white mask with stitches on it. Really sweet mask.
Gerry Cheevers
Legend has it that each stitch was where the puck hit.
Sweet! thanks HH.
Steve Nash………
from winning NBA MVP awards to making goalie masks, my my how the mighty have fallen……..
LOL!
I like that mask. Some of his previous ones have looked like graphic novels but this one is old school. Good stuff.
You gotta look good to play good.
Pfft. Who cares, just stop the freakin’ puck, Price.
No eternal reward will forgive us for wasting the dawn.
Haborama did a top 10 HIO on the previous thread. One item missing was FUNNIEST, do any of you have one?
I have one but you would have to be an oldie!
Hint: involved one poster tracking down a real life picture of another poster. He then created an account complete with picture avatar. Followed the guy around challenging him whenever he posted…it was hilarious. Of course the victim was trying to figure out which relative or friend was jerking his chain while trying to maintain his decorum.
Who remembers the names or has one like this?
a bit before my time bud, but WOW, that sounds like a riot!
btw, what is this water pistol thing the others were talking about that happened in 06???
Happened in ’09, nasty fight that got the site shut down for a day and mods were created after with powers. The water gun part came from one poster, who was otherwise not involved in the madness. Posting that he had a Super blah blah Water Cannon, it was locked and loaded, and he wasn’t afraid to use it. It was a funny moment at a very crazy time.
what was the fight about?
forbidden…taboo…
I eat Taboo’s for breakfast mon ami
Man-a-part if I am not mistaken. I have to spell it that way because I think there is a filter to disallow the typing of banned accounts. He was followed by numerous gag accounts. I also remember demi-god versus semi-god. That was hilarious.
Actually Robert L on Yeats but maybe before your time even. And you can imagine how well Yeats took being challenged at every turn
The name he used for the avatar was I believe “Not my mothers favorite”
That was before my time maybe. That is classic though. Never new Robert L had it in him to be such a chain yanker. Hilarious. Good times!!!
I have had conversations with myself here before………
I believe it was Robert L as teats to make fun off Yeats. It was real funny
The winner…
Sweet mask. You don’t need much more than that beautiful logo.
Now get one for Budaj!!!
Price must be the goalie with most masks in the NHL
Go Habs Go!
Check out Top Shelf Prospects, my Team by Team prospect reports
http://lastwordonsports.com/
Halak has more masks than Price.
Couldnt resist stirring the pot.
HIS MASKS R WORHT MOOR!!!
Nice!
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“Hey Richard, two minutes for looking so good!”
Less than 24 hours and its all back together. Go Habs Go. What could be better and with Booners live blog to boot. Bring on the ALN. Let the fun begin.
Certainly not the last.
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Go Habs Go!
This one was a gag between two regulars and not from one of our many crazies. Your situation has happened far too many times and many good posters lost over them. Having your e-mails on the old info tabs available to the public caused many to suffer. Was it Nahlsy or someone posing as… she left because of harassment.