Carter Hutton’s Winter Classic Mask Is A Tribute To The Cardinals

One of my favorite things about the Winter Classic every year are the goalie’s gear and masks. Chicago native and Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling is sporting a pretty sweet Cubs themed mask (though I don’t really consider it trolling Cards fans, because, well... never mind).

Jake Allen’s new pads match the uniforms perfectly and can possibly be seen from space.

A close-up of his mask is pretty, but is decidedly Cardinals-free:

Blues’ backup goaltender Carter Hutton fixed that problem with his mask, revealed today. Oh, boy, is it a tribute to the Cardinals.

"I thought I would do something that's a tribute to the Cardinals," Hutton said. "Especially since we're playing at Busch Stadium and having an outdoor game there, it makes sense."

Hutton's Winter Classic mask features the Cardinals' iconic redbird, which is perched atop a large Blue Note. Signature red baseball seams are weaved throughout the design, which also features sketches of Cardinal legends Stan "The Man" Musial, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Dizzy Dean and Red Schoendienst.

Yadier Molina, the Cardinals' eight-time Gold Glove-winning catcher, is also featured on one side.

The backplate features Ozzie Smith and his patented opening-day backflip and the years of each of the Cardinals' 11 World Series Championships.

This is about enough to make me hope that Hutton starts. Not entirely enough, but I will give him points for style.