Nothing makes me happier than a good story idea.



After we published the first Behind the Save Mailbag a few weeks back, a couple of readers gave me the perfect idea. How about a look at some of the history of Blackhawks goaltending? They asked.



Reader Sandra M. asked for some history of style, as well. “if you do a comparison of Hawks goalies historically (the suggestion was [Tony] Esposito, [Ed] Belfour and Crawford], it would be great to get some background on the evolution of tending in general – styles, methods, equipment,” she wrote.



This really got me excited. Few things throughout the history of hockey have changed quite as much as goaltending.



The first introduction of the “modern” goaltending pad wasn’t introduced until 1924, when Emil Kenesky “reinvented the wheel of hockey” by modeling goalie pads after cricket gear. Those first pads were a whopping 17 pounds apiece – for perspective,...