I'm old enough to be a "stuffy, old timer, traditional hockey type". I remember the hockey establishment nearly having a collective coronary when San Jose unveiled their teal jerseys, which means I also remember the excitement over Brian Hayward's gaping shark mask.
The problem with most of these mask designs here and most of the great ones from the 90s is that, although those great ones were over-the-top, there was an ability to leave well enough alone. John Vanbiesbrouck's Panthers mask was four colors: navy, white, red, and gold. Hayward's shark mask was black, white, and varying shades of teal to create a narrow gradient. Mike Richter's liberty head was white, red, Ranger blue, and a slightly lighter shade of blue for the logo on the chin. Ed Belfour's eagle mask had the eagles on either side, and a lot of single-color red outside of that. Andy Moog's bear head was black, white, gold, and varying red that was limited to the mouth. Brodeur's longtime one was red, black, and white.
And that's the issue that there is with a lot of these on this thread: too many damned colors, too much fine detail that makes them impossible to be spotted and identified from a distance. Almost all of them are overloaded with shadowing, gradients, flares, or other fine details. It makes them absolutely stunning up close, and a muddled mess of nothing from 10 feet away. It's the same problem with the Blackhawks Stadium Series crest: the basic standard one is fine, and didn't need the extra embellishments of looking like it was in chrome.
As a wise man once said, "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away."
