Tampa Bay goalie Curtis McElhinney collaborated with teammate Mathieu Joseph to create the ultimate tribute mask honoring Black athletes who trailbazed a path for others.

Montreal-baed goalie-mask painter, David Leroux, debuted McElhinney’s new Black Lives Matter mask on Jackie Robinson Day and the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I Have A Dream speech.

The mask features blue illustrations of Willie O’Ree (first Black hockey player), Alice Coachman (first Black woman to win an Olympic gold medal), Tommie Smith and John Carlos (1968 Olympics Black Power salute), Jackie Robinson (broke baseball’s color barrier), and Muhammad Ali (world champion boxer and activist).

Here’s a closer look.

If you look closely, the chin plate features a raised close fist while “Black Lives Matter” is stenciled on both sides.

The backplate of the mask features a snippet of a famous Martin Luther King, Jr. quote: Lightning makes no sound until it strikes.

The full MLK quote is:

Just as lightning makes no sound until it strikes, the Negro Revolution generated quietly. But when it struck, the revealing flash of its power and the impact of its sincerity and fervor displayed a force of a frightening intensity.

McElhinney’s new mask arrived at a pivotal time in NHL history for race relations. On Thursday, NHL players from the remaining eight playoff teams forced a two-day pause of the schedule in observation of the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Saturday, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins took the ice for the first time since the boycott. The game featured a pregame ceremony highlighting Black Lives Matter.

Today's pregame moment in full.

We can be better. We will be better. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/sp0C9X85b9

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) August 29, 2020

Photos courtesy of @dielairbrush