Viktor Fasth broke into the league in 2012 at the tender of age of 30. While the sliding scale does vary a little for goalies and their careers, 30 years young is still probably considered a late bloomer in the NHL. In fact, in the history of the NHL only 3.54% of goalies have made their rookie debut at the age of 30 or older. However, it would appear nobody let Fasth in on that little tidbit of information. Storming out of the gates in the lockout shortened season of 2012-2013, Fasth went 8-0-0 with the Anaheim Ducks (the best regular season start since Ray Emery in 2002). Since then, Fasth has maintained a high level of play, been traded to the Edmonton Oilers, and commissioned a new mask from Dave Gunnarsson of DaveArt. It’s a freaky design with ties to his past mask, loaded with detail and impressive features.

Transformed into a machine with his first Edmonton mask (also from Gunnarsson), Fasth has kept the theme and built on it. The previous mask showed the inner-workings behind the mask, with cogs and sprockets all over the place, dripping oil and only just holding on with riveted leather straps. According to Gunnarsson’s Facebook page, “cogwheels are also a cool connection to Fasth’s previous machine mask”. However, this new mask does stray from its predecessor in some aspects.

First of all, and most noticeably, there is something supernatural about this mask. The blue eyes visible from either side of the mask have makeup running down the edges. There is a big orange nose just above the cage that lets viewers know we’re dealing with a psycho “clown in Oilers colors”!

The cogs from the previous mask act as teeth in this new incarnation, one Gunnarsson calls “The Shapeshifter – Oil Drooling Clown”. The title gives you a better idea of just what is going on here. The lips of the clown, stained red by makeup (and who knows what else) run around the entire mask to give the shape-shifting illusion. Oil drool spills out the sides and as you move towards the top of the mask, you get a view of the other creature.

The top of the mask features a skull like face with sunken eyes and the same “cog-teeth”. We think it is safe to say there hasn’t been a mask like this in a while, maybe ever! Gunnarsson states, “I love to always try to think outside the box to create new paintings and effects.” Well, this new mask is definitely outside the box.

As we mentioned, Fasth came out hot in his rookie season. He didn’t let up either, sharing the season with Jonas Hiller, starting 25 games and going 15-6-2, with a save percentage of .921 and a goals against average of 2.18. While he didn’t have the body of work that other candidates may have had, Craig MacTavish and the Oilers liked what they saw, making a deal with the Ducks at the trade deadline last year for a couple of draft picks (3rd and 5th round). Not too shabby. With Ben Scrivens being acquired in January, just two months prior, it would appear that Edmonton has set their starting goaltending tandem for the coming year. It should be a dogfight for the starting job, though the success of the team will likely depend on what happens outside of the crease.

Gunnarsson has painted several masks for Fasth since he arrived in North America, including last year’s Machine mask and his masks from Anaheim, Judge Dredd Duck, and Bane Duck. You can check out Gunnarsson’s website, follow him on Twitter and/or Instagram, and Like his page on Facebook for more awesome mask designs and paint jobs. The rest of Fasth’s Oil Clown mask is below!