Tampa Bay Lightning G Louis Domingue pays tribute to Bolts legends with new mask

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Louis Domingue pays tribute to some Lightning greats in his new mask for the 2018-19 hockey season.

Much to the joy of hockey fans all around the world, the official start of the 2018-19 hockey season is right around the corner. This means players from all around the league will be making their way home from their summer vacations and getting ready for the season ahead.

Keeping this in mind, Tampa Bay Lightning fans are going to see quite a few Bolts players make their way back to the Bolts Nation in the coming days. This also means fans will start to get glimmers of what they can expect in the upcoming season.

Yesterday, Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Louis Domingue took to Instagram to show off some new hardware he’ll be sporting next season. Domingue’s newest piece of hardware (a.k.a. his goalie mask) pays tribute to two of the greatest players to ever wear a Lightning jersey.

On the left side of his mask, you will see former Tampa Bay Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier. As almost any self-respecting Lightning fan already knows, Vinny was a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning for a majority of his career and went way above and beyond off the ice and in the Tampa Bay community.

When you take a look at the opposite side of his mask, you will see another former Lightning captain, Martin St. Louis. For many years, Marty was considered to be the heart and soul of the Tampa Bay Lightning and (along with Lecavalier) was a member of the 2004 team that hoisted the Stanley Cup high above their heads.

The top of Domingue’s new mask sports an amazing picture of Zeus, the Greek God of the sky and thunder. The eyes, as well as the lightning bolt, are outlined in an amazing Lightning blue. On each side of Zeus’ image, there are lightning bolts which stretch to the back of the mask.

Meanwhile, the chin guard on the mask pays tribute to the Tampa Bay area with what looks like an image of Downtown Tampa and an image resembling the Gasparilla Invasion. If there was ever an image which captures Tampa’s rich history, it would be the Gasparilla parade and festivities.

The back side of the mask hits a little closer to home for Louis Domingue. In the middle, there is a lightning bolt reminiscent of the lightning bolts from the top of the mask flanked by a repeating Lightning logo. However, it’s the side of the mask that shows the more personal side of the 26-year-old Lightning netminder.

On the left side of the rear of the mask, there is an image of a smiling little girl with pigtails with the names Mila and Liam surrounding her. As you can easily imagine, Mila is his young daughter and Liam is his infant son, who was born in May.

As are most of the amazing masks you’ll see around the NHL, Louis Domingue’s newest helmet comes courtesy of David Gunnarsson, otherwise known around the league and the rest of the hockey world as DaveArt.

Domingue’s new mask definitely ranks near the top when it comes to our favorite Lightning goalie masks over the years. Not only does it show off the more personal side of Domingue’s life, but it also pays tribute to two of the best hockey players ever to play for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As we mentioned previously, the Tampa Bay Lightning are only a matter of weeks away from kicking off the new season. After the emotional rollercoaster they took fans on last season, we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us this time around.