Behind The Mask

Mike Richter's legendary career featured several iconic moments, including his penalty shot save on Pavel Bure in Game 4 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final and helping the Rangers win the Stanley Cup.
However, for all of the acrobatic saves and big-game performances that Richter delivered with the Rangers, it is perhaps the mask he wore during those moments that remains just as memorable nearly two decades after he played his final game.
Richter's iconic mask featured an image of the Statue of Liberty on the crown of the helmet. He first wore a mask with that design at the start of the 1992-93 season, and he kept that design until the end of his career following the 2002-03 season. The design also served as inspiration for the Rangers' Liberty jersey, which was first worn in 1996-97 and will be worn by the team for select games during the 2022-23 season.

"I remember Neil Smith (Rangers President and General Manager at the time) said to me that he really liked the design on my helmet," Richter recalled recently. "Neil said he wanted to create our third jersey based off of that Statue of Liberty design and asked me if I was ok with it.
"I said, 'Absolutely I'm ok with it, are you kidding me?'"
The Statue of Liberty design was the first image of any kind that Richter had in his career. Prior to the 1992-93 season, Richter had worn a helmet and cage mask, which was commonplace for goalies to wear during the prior decade. Once Richter made the decision to switch to a more modern-style mask, he also had to decide what its look would be.
Here is how Richter described the process for creating the Statue of Liberty logo on his mask:
"I had a great deal of interest in what the design would be, but there was a bit of a problem coming up with it. New York is such a big place and is the center of the universe, and if you ask any New Yorker to describe New York, there are several iconic images they could mention that represent the city, whether it's the Empire State Building, the entire skyline, or even just the Big Apple. I really wanted the design to be New York and team-centric, but we were struggling to get the right image. I was getting my mask done by a guy named Ed Cubberly, and his designer came up with the Statue of Liberty. Somehow that hadn't dawned on me. We fiddled with some versions of it; one was the image of the Liberty on the side of the mask and I had "NYR" in flame lettering. But for a mask design, I feel you need something that is big and legible from a distance, because intricate designs can sometimes be great when you're holding it in your hand, but if you're watching a game and let's say you're sitting in the Blue Seats, you might not be able to identify what's on the mask. So, I wanted something that could be identified from a distance. This designer came up with just Lady Liberty on the crown of the helmet, and the way he designed it made the image look highlighted. It was unmistakably the Statue of Liberty, elegant and powerful, and certainly a New York image. I thought the simplicity of it - with Lady Liberty on the head, the Rangers shield on the chin, and the Rangers letters down the sides - was perfect. They nailed it, and there was no way to improve upon it. I absolutely loved it. The idea was great and the execution was excellent too. I really like the mask to be less about the guy wearing it and more about the city and the team. I don't think there could be a better, more simple, and profound image than the history of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor."

Richter was in goal when the Rangers wore the Liberty jersey for the first time on January 13, 1997 at MSG. He recalled that part of the reason why the jersey resonated the way it did with the fans - besides the design - was the success the team had while wearing the jersey.
The Rangers wore the Liberty jersey for 10 of their final 35 regular season games in 1996-97, and had a 6-3-1 record in those 10 games. When the Rangers lost Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on the road against the Florida Panthers, the team decided to not wear their traditional blue road jersey for Game 2, but rather the Liberty jersey instead.
The Rangers won Game 2 in Florida and continued to wear the Liberty jersey for their remaining road playoff games in 1997; that year remains the only time in franchise history that the Rangers wore an alternate jersey in the playoffs. The run to the Eastern Conference Final in 1997 was highlighted by two series-clinching goals in overtime, both on the road - Esa Tikkanen's goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to eliminate Florida and Adam Graves' goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals to eliminate the New Jersey Devils.
"We seemed to wear that jersey more than we didn't after it came out in 1996-97," Richter said. "A lot of the highlights that we had during the playoffs, whether it was Gravy's overtime goal to eliminate the Devils or Gretzky's hat trick against the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Final, happened when we were wearing that jersey. I really loved that team; it was a great group of guys and had a great run until we were a little banged up and injured towards the end."
The Rangers' run in the 1997 Stanley Cup Playoffs was due in large part to Richter's stellar goaltending. During the first two rounds, Richter's opponent in goal was John Vanbiesbrouck for the Panthers (who was previously teammates with Richter in New York) and Martin Brodeur for the Devils. Vanbiesbrouck and Brodeur both played for the Eastern Conference in the 1997 NHL All-Star Game, but during that year's playoffs, Richter outperformed Vanbiesbrouck in the Rangers' five-game series win over the Panthers and outperformed Brodeur in the Rangers' five-game series win over the Devils.
"Mike Richter was one of the all-time great big-game goaltenders," said Adam Graves, who was Richter's teammate for 10 seasons with the Rangers. "He never quit on a puck. His athleticism, his mental toughness, and his preparation were second to none. He saved his best for the most important times. He was one of those special athletes, and we knew when Mike was in net, we had a chance to win every game that he was playing."
In the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, Vanbiesbrouck posted a 2.38 GAA and a .929 SV%, but Richter posted a 1.83 GAA and a .938 SV%. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Brodeur posted a remarkable 1.54 GAA and a .937 SV%; Richter, however, posted a 0.77 GAA and a .978 SV% in the series, allowing just four goals and stopping 178 of 182 shots to help the Rangers advance to the Eastern Conference Final.
Richter's .978 SV% in the series against the Devils remains the best save percentage any Rangers goalie has posted in a single playoff series (min. 60 minutes played) since the NHL began to track the statistic in 1955-56. After the series ended, Brodeur said, "Mike Richter, he was the answer for them. He outplayed myself. I always said he's one of those guys who can win a game all by himself. … It's unbelievable. I've never seen that before in my life."
"I really felt great and on top of my game," Richter recalled about the 1997 playoffs. "The guys were playing so well in front of me and we were playing amazing defense. Beezer was playing fantastic and Florida was the premier defensive team in the league, and we were able to match that. And what can you say about New Jersey; Brodeur was his usual great self and that team can lock it down defensively on any day.
"Great teams learn to win, and have the ability to win, in different ways, and that's something Mess always said. We always pointed to 1994 and how we were able to win - whether it was through toughness, speed and skill, or defense - and that's definitely what 1997 was about. Gretzky could score a hat trick one game, but we could also win a game 2-1 if we had to."
This fall marks 30 years since Richter first wore his mask that featured the Statue of Liberty and over 25 years since the Rangers first wore the Liberty jersey. Richter said he's looking forward to seeing the current Rangers team wear the newest version of the jersey this season.
"There's always a balance between tradition and change - for players, for coaches, and for how the fans relate to the organization," Richter said. "There is a level of renewal that I think is really important. You never stray from your roots, but you have to push and improve, and never stay static. That's the great thing about this organization. I still go to the games and they find new ways of capturing the fans' attention, and reinventing themselves and the experience of the game.
"If you ask some of the best players that have ever put a uniform on about why they began playing, they'll say it was the uniform itself. This is part of the experience. You want to do it justice by creating a jersey that is unique and captures the spirit of the organization, and I think the Liberty jersey does that.
"It's fantastic that the Rangers are wearing it again."