Masks have become such an iconic part of a goaltender’s gear that it’s strange to think only 50 years have passed since men manned the pipes without the now required head and face protection.

On November 1, 1959, Montreal Canadiens netminder Jacques Plante wore the first full-face goalie mask in a NHL game after a slapshot from hard-shooting Rangers forward Andy Bathgate pegged Plante square in his mug. While Plante’s now crude-looking mask was born out of his desire to return to the ice, today’s masks are practically works of sports art, in addition to featuring state-of-the-art protection against hockey’s hardest shooters. Masks have become a goaltender’s personal calling card, showcasing everything from a player’s home country to the names of family members to profiles of their hockey heroes or even a fun take on their nickname or team mascot.

WG Authentic is pleased to introduce a framed canvas photo featuring one of the game’s more memorable masks. Signed by Hall-of-Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers, The Mask features the iconic face guard worn by the Boston Bruins goalie and includes a plaque with quotes from Cheevers recalling the history of how the false stitches on his mask grew out of a humorous attempt to get out of practice.

“I turned to Frosty Forristall, our trainer, and said, ‘Frosty, paint a stitch mark or two on the mask,’” Cheevers recalled. “So he painted this big gouge over the right eye and it got a laugh. We started to paint stitches every time I got hit. Frosty would calculate where it would have been and how many stitches it would have taken.”

For more information on this canvas piece, please visit the online store at Gretzky.com/shop.