First look: New goalie masks for Kari Lehtonen, Jonathan Bernier

Kari Lehtonen's new lid has a distinct Texas flavor. (InGoal Magazine) By Allan Muir Changing colors and a change of teams provided the inspiration for a pair

Kari Lehtonen's new lid has a distinct Texas flavor. (InGoal Magazine)

By Allan Muir

Changing colors and a change of teams provided the inspiration for a pair of new goalie mask designs that are set to debut this season. Courtesy of InGoal Magazine, here's a sneak peek at the fresh lids that will be rocked by Kari Lehtonen of the Stars and Jonathan Bernier of the Maple Leafs.

Lehtonen will sport home and road variations of a similar design that emphasizes the Dallas's new colors and logos. The masks, designed and painted by Lehtonen's ex-teammate, Joni "Bona" Hallikainen, feature some sweet touches like the longhorns morphing into two points of the star on the chin section and a detail to honor Lehtonen's off-ice passion: "Kari is a car enthusiast, so he came up with the idea to fade some car tire marks on the design," Hallikainen told InGoal. "I thought it would be a great idea to add a personal touch and at the same time honor a local Gas Monkey Garage."

(Courtesy oi InGoal Magazine)

Bernier's new design, created by Swedish artist Dave Gunnarsson, pays tribute to the goalie's astrological sign (Leo), which he also has tattooed on his arm. "We’ve always had the lion on top for my sign and [Gunnarsson] wanted to keep it," Bernier told InGoal. "We just added the Leafs logo on the side -- old school -- with a bunch of small logos in the shading on the side just like he did with my L.A. helmet. It’s pretty much the same. We just switched the colours and logos."

The palm trees that used to run along the jaw line have been replaced by small Maple Leafs logos, and Bernier’s number is highlighted more dramatically on the chin.

Couple of winners here. What do you think?

(Courtesy of InGoal Magazine)