Look up the word "flaky" in the hockey dictionary and I am sure that the picture that goes with the word would be of Arturs Irbe. He was flaky in the sense that he took care of his own equipment, sewing together his own pads when they needed repair, the transliterations from Latvian, and the goalie mask. Ah yes, the "mask" was unmistakable in that it was a throwback when a handful of goalies resorted to the helmet-cage combination. Irbe's mask was even more archaic in that the mask looks like it wouldn't even be suitable for a goalie, even in the 1970's. So, how rare is his mask? He acquired a new one through an ad and like much of his equipment, trainers and caretakers would often wonder about the charges from out of the way places for hockey goalie equipment.
This entire ensemble gained attention during the 2002 Stanley Cup playoffs, when Irbe backstopped the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup finals. His tenure in the NHL ended when he was sent down to the ECHL in 2003, but the look will never be forgotten.
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