If you're a Leafs fan born in the early 90's or later, there's a good chance your all time favourite Leafs goalie is either Felix "The Cat" Potvin or Curtis "CuJo" Joseph. Both goaltenders were immensely talented, extremely likeable and brought with them deep playoff runs for the Maple Leafs. The other thing these two Leafs greats had in common? Iconic mask designs. Today, Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov revealed his new mask for the 2023-24 season, and the inspiration for it is obvious.
Sammy's new mask is a slightly more aggressive looking version of Joseph's timeless CuJo mask. A snarling dog with bared teeth and an open mouth surrounding the goalie's face. Samsonov's mask features bigger, more crooked and wild looking teeth and an even bigger snarl than CuJo's version.
Unfortunately, this photo doesn't show the entire mask. I'm dying to see what the rest of the paint job looks like. You can bet that when detailed photos do surface, we will have them available for you. As far as I'm concerned, this mask is already an absolute homerun. Hopefully Sammy is able to bring back not only the CuJo look, but the playoff performances that came with it!
