Loading ...Kari Lehtonen has had some of the dumbest, least fearsome goalie masks in the business. Animae video game characters are not, as a rule, intimidating. Especially not cutesy ones with tails and big boobs. For two years he used a mask with cartoon renderings of the woman from “Kill Bill,” which, I guess, is an improvement.
Earlier in the 2008 season he debuted a “Transformers”-themed mask, with Optimus Prime on the side. OK. How old are we, Kari? Rumor has it, he stopped wearing this mask after repeated razzings from the other team (and probably his own).
Now he’s on with a Batman theme. Only thing is, he’s using The Joker. I’m not some big moralist or anything, but The Joker was a bad, bad dude. And somehow it seems exploitative to have Heath Ledger’s face on your mask so soon after his death. But that’s just me.
Frankly, I’d like to see Kari play up his supposed family nickname “Kärppä” (I could be misspelling that. I’ve seen it with a “t” on the end. Oh well, I am sure I’ll be corrected). But the word means “weasel” in Finnish. He could have a nasty, mean-looking, yellow-toothed weasel on his mask. Hey! It’s just an idea. I could have suggested using the Hamburglar, which is what they used to call him when he played for the Chicago Wolves. Apparently he has had an affinity for the fast food.
Man up Kari! Come on!
hear hear!
I have linked to the article at inGoalMag.com and look forward to reading more.
Wow you are so wrong and off base about the entire scenario of his masks. The animae mask is Kill Bill which was a movie that he liked along with Lil John who is a personal friend of his. The mask is from the 2006-2007 season. The Transformers mask was supposed to debut at the beginning of the 2007-2008 season but the maker of the mask got it to him extremely late so he only wore it at a couple of practices. The team did not give him crap about it either. The Joker mask was already in production before the death of Heath Ledger. He received the mask about a month ago. He has chosen to wear it not out of disrespect but out of memory for Heath Ledger. His mask on the back has a Finnish Flag with his nickname Kärppä painted across the flag. If you knew anything about Kari you would know that his masks are representative of movies that he likes. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that whatsoever. What should he wear the Osgood or Hasek style? And for the record, he is not a fast food junkie. He has a strict regiment that he abides by. My friend is a chef at the restaurant that the majority of his dinners some from and they are specialty prepared meals.
I’m with ya.
Kari did wear the “Transformers” mask in at least one game.
HW: Whoa, baby! This is my opinion. I am sure Lehtonen likes roses or tulips too, that doesn’t mean it’s goalie mask material. My main point is that his masks are kind of wimpy. I like a grrrrr manly looking mask. Kari’s are far from it.
And, no I do not know him personally, but before we left Atlanta early last year, my husband and I attended nearly every Thrashers home game since the 2003 season. I am very familiar with Lehtonen’s work in goal as well as his masks.
I get that guys put things they are interested in on their masks. But for me, personally, I dig the snarling, fearsome masks of say, Vesa Toskala or Curtis Joseph or even Miikka Kiprusoff. These are masks that say: “You’re never getting a puck in my net!”
In point of fact though, in regards to his “Final Fantasy 2″ mask — that’s not something he felt passionately about — at least not according to this quote from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (12/29/2005). Columnist Jeff Schultz quotes Lehtonen thus:
Lehtonen’s gear matches. His mask is Thrasher blue. On either side are slim blonde women dressed in shorts and thigh-high boots. OK, not quite the hockey theme.
“It’s from the Final Fantasy [video] game,” he said. “I’ve never played it. But I saw a couple of commercials about the game and just thought it looked awesome.”
As to Kari as the Hamburglar. It is also a published fact that “the Hamburglar” was his nickname when he was in Chicago. I know he’s shaped up since then. I was attempting to be funny — I am sorry the joke fell flat.
And I’ve always thought Lil’ John was one of the best parts of Kari’s mask. I didn’t criticize that.
Just discovered this blog via a link to this post. Chiming in with my opinion too… I agree, that these themes aren’t really all that fear-inspiring. Kind of like when Fleury had a venus flytrap on his mask because his nickname was “flower” and he wanted a mean-looking flower. Errr…. ok…. go with something else, kid. LOL.
Anyway I’m completely in support of the Kärppä theme, that would be awesome! And the Hamburglar joke totally cracked me up. I didn’t know that about him. Definitely sounds like something a teammate would think up. Haha.