It all started last year when Blueger was giving his teammate a hard time about how his helmet looked, likening it to the generic ones you see when creating a goalie in an NHL video game.
"He was chirping me, so I challenged him to design a better one," DeSmith said with a laugh. "I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I thought he did a great job, and it's very 'Teddy.'"
DeSmith essentially gave Blueger full autonomy in the process, with the center saying it was a little different than he thought it would be. Blueger came up with a rough outline of ideas over the summer and texted them to DeSmith, who then relayed them to the painter to make them come to life.
"I think it actually turned out pretty good, for the most part. The back of it's hilarious," Blueger grinned.
That section of the mask is an homage to 'The Office,' which is DeSmith's favorite show and one that he constantly references. Blueger hadn't really watched it before, but figured that with this new assignment, he would do his homework and get some inspiration.
Dwight Schrute became his favorite character, and when Blueger got to the end of Season 2 and watched him give his speech after being named Dunder Mifflin's Saleman of the Year, that became his favorite scene.
"That's why he's on there," said Blueger, who has Dwight standing behind a podium with the Penguins logo. "So it's kind of like, keep Casey's Office interests in there, and also put a little twist of my own on it."
Blueger's autograph is also on the back, with that being one of the elements he included half-jokingly, saying he wasn't sure if DeSmith would ultimately keep them.
"That stuff where it says 'ONE' on the chin instead of his number, that was one of those things. My signature, too," Blueger said. "I just kind of threw it in there. I wasn't sure if he was actually going to do it."
But Blueger is glad that he did, as overall, the mask came together really well. It also features penguins from the animated movie 'Penguins of Madagascar' playing disc golf - one of DeSmith's biggest passions outside of hockey - and the Andy Warhol Bridge.
"I had no idea how it was actually going to turn out or look, so it's actually pretty cool to see the finished product," Blueger said.
