St. Louis Blues goalie Jake Allen just revealed his 2019-20 mask. The bigger question is whether it hints at the commemorative jersey style.
As we continue to sneak up on preseason hockey for the St. Louis Blues, we continue to see new things pop out about the team. The latest bit was the reveal of Jake Allen’s mask.
Allen seems to illicit a huge response, both positive and negative, any time his name gets brought up. However, we have covered that ad nauseum and will likely continue to do so throughout this upcoming season. For now, let us focus on the mask and what it could mean.
In a previous article, we already discussed Jordan Binnington’s new mask. I appreciated what he and the designer were trying to do, but it did not quite click with me.
Allen’s mask is an improvement for yours truly, but still not the best I have seen over the last few years.
The new @34jallen gear is lit!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/jKTbPpbegn
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 12, 2019
Personally, I have always enjoyed the masks of Allen’s that feature reptilian aspects to honor his Snake nickname. In his defense, goaltenders are notoriously superstitious and he never seemed to play that well with those masks, so that might be a reason he has shied away from it in recent designs.
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What I do like about this mask is the darker color palate. Binnington’s mask looked good upon close up inspection, but it was so light you could just tell it would get washed out on television or for someone sitting in the upper deck.
Allen’s mask will pop a lot more. I am under the assumption that he was showing two masks since the mask shown in the front-on picture is not two-toned.
So, one predominantly blue and one mostly is yellow. The blue one really looks nice and the yellow might fall more under the washout category.
The drawback is the trumpet. I completely get the original idea, blues = trumpets/music, but I never cared for that logo as anything other than a shoulder patch.
Outside of that, I like the design. The chrome bluenote on the chin pops more than Binnington’s with this color scheme. I’m always a fan of the kind of chromey, metallic look to the helmet part as well. The addition of the New Brunswick flag logo to the actual mask instead of the back plate is a nice touch too.
The yellow one, in general, looks nice, but I’m not a big fan of yellow. Even though it is in the team colors, it just seems to stick out in an unnecessary way. Reminds you too much of the Predators, in my opinion.
However, all that said, there might be a bigger question surrounding Allen’s mask.
We know that the Blues are going to have a fourth jersey, dubbed a commemorative jersey. That reveal will come during their practice on September 14 at their new facility, the Centene Center.
Rumors have swirled that jersey style could be reminiscent of the infamous clown jerseys of the mid-to-late 1990’s. The interesting thing is enough time has passed where there is actually a large group of fans that welcome that jersey back into the fold.
The question I pose, is whether Allen’s mask is a hint. Could the introduction of the trumpets on his masks be foretelling of this new jersey style?
Even if it is not an exact duplicate of that style, could it be something similar? Would the team have the grapefruits to use the trumpet logo on the chest?
We have seen designs that tried in the past and, fortunately, never got past the design stage. However, we have seen merchandise with the trumpet logo released by the team over the past season or two.
I am not completely sold the mask means anything, but it did spark the possibility. I am not completely sure the old design will be on this new jersey.
At this moment, I think it is 55/45 that the Blues will re-use that 90’s style. If nothing else, it would cause some buzz. Personally, I would rather the white jersey than the blue if they did that, but we will see on the 14th.
Circling back, hopefully Allen uses the blue mask more than the other. I think it is a decent design, devoid of major frills.
It could have been a little better, but these choices are so personal that it boils down to goalie comfort. Like Binnington’s, as long as Allen is happy with it, so be it. I just might have gone a different route is all.