They have pucks slammed at them on a regular basis, they had to give them something lol
shmoove_cwiminal
Tradition.
BalsaWoodF5Wings
Fuck that’s a great helmet, is that Mike Smiths old one?
Toiletboy4
Feels like it would become anarchy if everyone had a custom helmet and it would undermine the coolness of the goalie helmets
darth_senpai90
Sick mask! Who’s is this?
TepidAtmosphere
Goalies wore masks before players had to wear helmets. The design is also supposed to distract/intimidate players during offensive attempts.
AspieDM
Tradition and most important player?
ArnieAndTheWaves
We’re expected to put our face in front of a slap shot puck if the situation calls for it. At least let us look cool doing it.
Yeetwich
Austrian league at one point had a rule that the top goalscorer could have a customized helmet
adrianp07
There have to be SOME selling points to playing goalie
ComprehensiveAlps652
Cause we are cool.
KalKenobi
because its been a tradition since the 70’s also people would hate including myself if they went to a standard paint jobs
Nate16
Why not? It’s cool. it markets the game.
No_Interaction_4925
Cost. These are handmade. I love this one btw
Bot_Man_Dont
It has a lot to do with looking as a cohesive team unit. Not a bunch of individuals on a team.
Goalies in hockey are known to be slightly different (for the most part). Mostly, they are kept to their crease and not part of a lot of offensive plays. Therefore, they can have more independence on their approach to the game. Also, a lot of people/teammates realize the importance of the position to being more than the rest of the players, and will let goalies do whatever they need to do to be their best. No matter how bizarre it may be… if it helps them win, then go for it.
As a coach, it’s important to continue the team mentality, and winning together, loosing together attitude. We have all seen teams that are basically one super star, and disgruntled players surrounding them. Rarely do they win much.
DepressoEspresso45
Because it’s a sacred tradition
TheKrowDontFly
It’s a tradition born out of a custom that began before skaters wore helmets regularly and before the helmet mandate. The League didn’t issue any official guidelines for masks/goalie helmets initially (and not for many many years and there’s barely any now lol) so personalizing all their protective equipment grandfathered itself in. For the longest time, catchers, blockers, and leg pad colors weren’t a big deal, because manufacturers/makers only produced them in a variants of natural leather tan color. Same for the first skater helmets and their gloves.
The main stated reasons that goalies are permitted to customize their protective gear is because they are ostensibly stationary positions, and it has to do with television. They don’t require uniformity in the way skaters do for officiating or broadcasting to determine something in a given situation, especially in the modern NHL (beginning in the 50s) when home and away colors became regulation. There are certainly plays in which goalies leave the crease and/or get involved in play up the ice, but when compared to the sheer number of situations throughout an entire game, it’s pretty low.
Overall it’s just something where the League has given plenty of leeway to goalies for a long time, and there’s been no reason to change that. Anytime there’s any kind of equipment issue, they look at it, address it, and regulate it.
StevieWonderUberRide
They used to be the only ones with masks/helmets on
A3TP
Caus’ we’re badass!
Lower_H8r_esef
Tendies are a rare type of individual. Just let them be and stick tap em on the pads
KrispyChicken16
Could you imagine how ridiculous it would look if everyone had a different helmet
grandBBQninja
The goalie is already wearing different gear than skaters.
somthingrandombout
That is a good question
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I have no idea
PathThatIsNoPath
for skaters, the worst is random helmets. The game is so fast, the faster you can pick up friend/enemy the better.
SupportGeek
Id guess that if everyone had a custom helmet it may lead to hesitation or confusion when trying to pick out your teammates occasionally.
Leslesser
Honestly what I would love would be the option of letting a player put a small flag from his native country on the team helmet. I feel like except for us fans the majority of the crowd doesn’t have an appreciation for the international composition of todays NHL.
JBerry_Mingjai
It’s not unique to hockey. Soccer goalkeepers get to wear a different uniform than the field players.
Fencemaker
Because they’re awesome. Next question.
mattevs119
Cause the other ones are used to sell ads.
Go_Buds_Go
They don’t need to be recognized as a teammate during regular play. We know where the goalie is at all times.
rhodesleadnowhere
If you’re eating puck sandwiches, you deserve to have a badass helmet.
RMZ13
Same reason soccer goalies wear a different jersey and all the other players match. It would be bedlam if every player got their own custom helmet. It’s part of the way you identify your teammates in fractions of a second. Yeah you. Could say memorize your teammates helmets but all white/black/a single color is way easier.
gilpenderbren
Goalies deserve so much more than just cooler helmets let’s be serious!
Burritomuncher2
It just makes sense tbh
scottieducati
It goes back to the early days when they first wore masks, eventually the masks got marked up and a little sharpie made those “cuts” into stitches and it went in from there.
Players didn’t tend to feature lots of stitches on their heads back then, they got to sport dreamy salad. So the skaters have hockey hair, goalies have sick masks.
Jazz_Legend_Roy_Donk
Because they’re the most important player on the team.
FinicalPenny453
That Mike Smith mask is 🔥
Falcon3492
Gerry Cheevers started it all off by painting stitches on his mask every time he took a puck to the face. Jim Rutherford was the first to have a design painted on his mask when he was traded to the Red Wings. It kinda all grew out of that.
Nickdawg18
Because goalies WANT to stand in front of a 90mph frozen puck. Weirdos.
Victal87
They have to pay more for gear
Hutch25
Because the rest of a goalies equipment is highly customizable, so why not the helmet?
Players can only customize their protective equipment and even then there is a lot of regulations.
41 Comments
They have pucks slammed at them on a regular basis, they had to give them something lol
Tradition.
Fuck that’s a great helmet, is that Mike Smiths old one?
Feels like it would become anarchy if everyone had a custom helmet and it would undermine the coolness of the goalie helmets
Sick mask! Who’s is this?
Goalies wore masks before players had to wear helmets. The design is also supposed to distract/intimidate players during offensive attempts.
Tradition and most important player?
We’re expected to put our face in front of a slap shot puck if the situation calls for it. At least let us look cool doing it.
Austrian league at one point had a rule that the top goalscorer could have a customized helmet
There have to be SOME selling points to playing goalie
Cause we are cool.
because its been a tradition since the 70’s also people would hate including myself if they went to a standard paint jobs
Why not? It’s cool. it markets the game.
Cost. These are handmade. I love this one btw
It has a lot to do with looking as a cohesive team unit. Not a bunch of individuals on a team.
Goalies in hockey are known to be slightly different (for the most part). Mostly, they are kept to their crease and not part of a lot of offensive plays. Therefore, they can have more independence on their approach to the game. Also, a lot of people/teammates realize the importance of the position to being more than the rest of the players, and will let goalies do whatever they need to do to be their best. No matter how bizarre it may be… if it helps them win, then go for it.
As a coach, it’s important to continue the team mentality, and winning together, loosing together attitude. We have all seen teams that are basically one super star, and disgruntled players surrounding them. Rarely do they win much.
Because it’s a sacred tradition
It’s a tradition born out of a custom that began before skaters wore helmets regularly and before the helmet mandate. The League didn’t issue any official guidelines for masks/goalie helmets initially (and not for many many years and there’s barely any now lol) so personalizing all their protective equipment grandfathered itself in. For the longest time, catchers, blockers, and leg pad colors weren’t a big deal, because manufacturers/makers only produced them in a variants of natural leather tan color. Same for the first skater helmets and their gloves.
The main stated reasons that goalies are permitted to customize their protective gear is because they are ostensibly stationary positions, and it has to do with television. They don’t require uniformity in the way skaters do for officiating or broadcasting to determine something in a given situation, especially in the modern NHL (beginning in the 50s) when home and away colors became regulation. There are certainly plays in which goalies leave the crease and/or get involved in play up the ice, but when compared to the sheer number of situations throughout an entire game, it’s pretty low.
Overall it’s just something where the League has given plenty of leeway to goalies for a long time, and there’s been no reason to change that. Anytime there’s any kind of equipment issue, they look at it, address it, and regulate it.
They used to be the only ones with masks/helmets on
Caus’ we’re badass!
Tendies are a rare type of individual. Just let them be and stick tap em on the pads
Could you imagine how ridiculous it would look if everyone had a different helmet
The goalie is already wearing different gear than skaters.
That is a good question
​
​
​
​
I have no idea
for skaters, the worst is random helmets. The game is so fast, the faster you can pick up friend/enemy the better.
Id guess that if everyone had a custom helmet it may lead to hesitation or confusion when trying to pick out your teammates occasionally.
Honestly what I would love would be the option of letting a player put a small flag from his native country on the team helmet. I feel like except for us fans the majority of the crowd doesn’t have an appreciation for the international composition of todays NHL.
It’s not unique to hockey. Soccer goalkeepers get to wear a different uniform than the field players.
Because they’re awesome. Next question.
Cause the other ones are used to sell ads.
They don’t need to be recognized as a teammate during regular play. We know where the goalie is at all times.
If you’re eating puck sandwiches, you deserve to have a badass helmet.
Same reason soccer goalies wear a different jersey and all the other players match. It would be bedlam if every player got their own custom helmet. It’s part of the way you identify your teammates in fractions of a second. Yeah you. Could say memorize your teammates helmets but all white/black/a single color is way easier.
Goalies deserve so much more than just cooler helmets let’s be serious!
It just makes sense tbh
It goes back to the early days when they first wore masks, eventually the masks got marked up and a little sharpie made those “cuts” into stitches and it went in from there.
Players didn’t tend to feature lots of stitches on their heads back then, they got to sport dreamy salad. So the skaters have hockey hair, goalies have sick masks.
Because they’re the most important player on the team.
That Mike Smith mask is 🔥
Gerry Cheevers started it all off by painting stitches on his mask every time he took a puck to the face. Jim Rutherford was the first to have a design painted on his mask when he was traded to the Red Wings. It kinda all grew out of that.
Because goalies WANT to stand in front of a 90mph frozen puck. Weirdos.
They have to pay more for gear
Because the rest of a goalies equipment is highly customizable, so why not the helmet?
Players can only customize their protective equipment and even then there is a lot of regulations.