I’ve always marveled that there weren’t two or three hockey goalies killed in every NHL game, back in the days before face masks and helmets. In November 1959, Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens became the first goalie to regularly use the equipment (though it had been tested and discarded decades earlier).

From ESPN Classic: “His coach, Toe Blake, opposed the idea, but relented after Plante was struck in the face by a shot from the Rangers’ Andy Bathgate and balked at returning to the ice unless he could wear a plastic mask that he donned frequently in practice.

The goalie endured taunts about his manhood and questions about the mask’s durability and effect on his vision. Asked if he were scared to play without a mask, Plante replied, “If you jumped out of a plane without a parachute, would that make you brave?” Montreal went 10-0-1 that month with a masked Plante, and the face of hockey was changed forever.”

I recently watched a rebroadcast of the 1955 Stanley Cup finals between the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens. Even though neither of the goalies were wearing masks, I was shocked at how little danger they (or any of the players) appeared to be in. There were wrist shots but almost no slap shots. And as tough a sport as it was, hockey at that point was much more of a finesse game played by men who didn’t have Herculean physiques. Improvements in equipment may protect players a little more, but advances in nutrition, fitness, technique and performance-enhancing drugs as well as a more aggressive style of play have likely made today’s players more susceptible to serious head injuries than Plante ever was.. Malcolm Gladwell recently wondered similar thoughts about football as concerns about brain injuries in the NFL have become a topic du jour.

ALSO:

“Saving Face: The Art and History of the Goalie Mask” video.
A man named Toe.