Sports

Winnipeg Jets goalie's Bruce Springsteen-themed mask is Boss, literally

by Mark Teo

Forgive us if we’re a little late to the party, here, but how in the heck did we miss miss Ondrej Pavelec’s newest mask? We are, after all, usually up-to-date on our music-themed goalie masks: In Arizona, we celebrated Mike Smith’s Alice Cooper mask. We gave daps to Chris Mason’s Iron Maiden helmet. But we’re most impressed by Pavelec’s newest mask, which the Winnipeg Jets goaltender’s had since February, depicting the only boss we listen to. Yes, it’s Bruce Springsteen.

Perhaps we missed the mask because Pavelec, who’s re-establishing himself as Winnipeg’s starting goaltender, sat on the bench for the last several months, handing over the crease to rookie ‘tender Michael Hutchinson. But as Hutchinson began to falter—and with him, the Jets’ playoff hopes—Pavelec took his place, and with the Czech goalie backstopping them, they’ve won six of their last seven games.

With behemoth defenseman-right winger Dustin Byfuglien returning to their lineup and centre Mark Scheifele heating up, the Jets, thanks partly to Pavelec’s efforts, now have brighter playoffs hopes.

But beyond bringing stability to the Jets’ crease, we’re most impressed by his Springsteen mask. Painted by Dave Gunnarsson, the mask pays tribute to both the Boss and the E-Street band—check images of the mask in the gallery above. Here’s to hoping the Jets catch fire and secure a Western Conference wildcard spot.