St. Louis Blues: Jake Allen’s 2018-19 Mask Hits All The Right Notes

The St. Louis Blues goaltenders almost always have interesting masks these days. Jake Allen’s initial mask for 2018-19 is another prime example.

The St. Louis Blues have a history of some really good masks, regardless of how the player that wore them played. CuJo’s mask was one of the forerunners of today’s intricate designs.

Roman Turek had one of the more interesting masks in team history, with his odd goblin face. Carter Hutton’s 50’s inspired mask was something to behold as well.

Jake Allen’s 2018-19 mask is right up there among them. It has all the right features and very little to dislike about it.

Personally, I have been rather hit or miss regarding Allen’s masks lately. When he has gone for a plainer design, for some reason he tends to play better, but I also tend to hate them. Ok, hate is a strong word, but they are not pleasing to the eye.

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His more detailed masks have been very cool. Unfortunately, Allen is a little more superstitious than even your average goaltenders, so equipment that is worn during his poor play is often jettisoned. So, for the sake of aesthetic, let us hope that Allen gets off to a really good start with this new mask.

The new beauty was unveiled on the Blues website. According to the team, it was designed by David Gunnarsson (probably no relation).

That is an interesting departure from past masks for Allen. The Snake had long had Head Strong Grafx design his masks. Why there was a change is anyone’s guess.

Perhaps it is simple superstition of trying something completely new or perhaps it is just like moving to Under Armour after being a Nike guy most of your life. There’s no real point in guessing, since it is all conjecture at this point.

Focusing on the mask itself, it is a beauty. It features bright green snake scales on the top and part of the sides, with a galaxy blue Blue Note prominently featured on the forehead.

The sides feature the 90’s style trumpet. While I was never a big fan of those, they are used very nicely as part of this overall design. Like the Blue Note, the trumpets are a fairly deep blue with a starry effect inside of it.

Allen’s usual 34 is featured on the chin, this year in white snake scales. The back plate is the galaxy aesthetic again, with several personal touches added to it.

The New Brunswick flag is something that he has featured on almost every mask since joining the Blues, according to the team website to remind him of where he came from. There are paw prints to represent his two dogs, the names of his two children or rather their initials – LEA and RIA. There is also a tribute to his late grandfather.

If you pay close attention, there are white streaks on the side that will go unnoticed by some. Perhaps it is coincidence, but I think this is an attempt to channel those plain masks that featured the stripes on the side while having more going on behind it. If so, that’s a particularly nice touch of using an Allen favorite while not going the same route.

Ultimately, fans will judge the mask and the man based on how he performs in 2018-19. A fancy helmet won’t save him from any poor performances in the eyes of those that pay for tickets.

Personally, I just hope that fans can go into this season with an open mind. This idea that Allen is not a good goaltender is just all wrong.

We will see. For now, I give this mask two thumbs up and congratulate Gunnarsson on some fine work. Now, let’s get to work and see it in action on the ice already.