Price's new mask is biomechanical skull full of Canadiens history

Carey Price's new mask is designed to transform the Montreal Canadiens goalie into a cyborg: part man, part machine, allowing him to channel various elements from the team's great goaltending history directly into his own brain.

Created by Calgary airbrush artist Jordon Bourgeault after Price reached out directly through social media, the "biomechanical skull" is a departure from Price's recent logo-heavy masks but is still loaded with Canadiens influences.
"I really wanted to throw something Montreal Canadiens in it, so the thought was to put some of the information of past goalies from the Canadiens and that would be directly wired into his brain," said Bourgeault, who runs J Bo Airbrush (

) "It also runs up to where the camera system is, which is one of the eyes, the robotic-side eye. So, it's almost like all of the skills and everything learned from all the goalies of the past are now transferred into him and making him this ultimate cyborg goalie."

Those skills are transferred through a "Canadiens Goal Tender Power System" circuit board on the right side that includes a "Vezina Power" indicator light as well as lights for Patrick Roy, Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden. The wires from that circuit board connect to the camera lens on the right side of the mask that features a reflection of Maurice Richard. The left side is a human eye.
Bourgeault came up with an acronym for the camera system: H.A.B.S. (Habitants Archival Blocking System.)
"Same idea as the circuit board," Bourgeault said. "Goalies from the past have all this information and since it's a camera lens, I thought it would be a great spot for a reflection of somebody he's playing against and I wanted to keep it Canadiens so I thought he's probably taken a lot of shots from Rocket Richard."
Even the wiring harness between the circuit board and the camera lens contains a nod to team history, with years they've won the Stanley Cup written on the wires.
There is also a "PSI" gauge, but this one stands for Percentage Save Indicator, and of course it's well over .900 for Price.
On the back plate, Bourgeault includes "Made in Canada" in both French and English around a maple leaf that was the Canadiens logo in 1910.

Bourgeault estimates he has spent 250 hours of design, prep and painting time on his first project for an NHL goalie, including using a matter finish on the human parts of the mask like bones, teeth and brains, and a gloss finish for the mechanical elements. He knows he isn't the first painter to use a cyborg theme on a goalie mask, but tried to make this one as realistic as possible. And while it may not have a big, bold Canadiens logo on the side, he kept the team in it.
"In as many little spots as I could without being too silly with it, I was trying to pump in as much of that old history is I could," Bourgeault said.
Photos by Lune Attic Films.