With a new season just about upon us, NHL goaltenders are showing off their new equipment and goalie masks as they prepare another season of vulcanized rubber pucks being shot at them with speeds up to 100 mph.
Whenever a goaltender shows off a new cranium cage, it’ll usually include a nickname, some sort of geographical reference or tribute of their city or region, their heritage and the names of their immediate family members.
For Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, he’s checked off a few of those boxes with his nickname “Andy” displayed around the bottom portion of the mask pasted on top of a bunch of maple leaves.
But like Anderson did with his wife Nicholle last year, who overcome the odds and conquered her own battle with the disease, the 37-year-old made sure to pay homage to those that were dear to his heart. The Senators goaltender paid his respects to former Sens head coach and general manager Bryan Murray, who passed away at the age of 74 on August 12, 2017, after battling colon cancer.
Painted by Syla Brush, Anderson will sport the bucket for the 2018/19 season.
Murray stayed with the club until the end of 2016, finally stepping down as the team’s general manager after serving as the team’s head coach from 2005-2007 which included a birth in the Stanley Cup Final. Murray was the GM when the Sens acquired him from the Avalanche in 2011 before inking multiple contract extensions to stay with the club.
Like many of the Senators, Anderson had a season to forget last year after going 23-25-6 with a 3.32 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.
It’s great to see that Anderson hasn’t forgotten about Murray and his impact on the Senators organization. In a time where positive headlines have been hard to come by, it’s nice to see Anderson give fans another thing to look forward to this season. He’s got some fresh black, bronze and red Brian’s pads that were designed by his son to go along with his new mask, too!
