Oh, it doesn't mean much really -- goalie masks for pros tend to grow on trees these days -- but we've dinged the man plenty for his refusal to report last spring. And he just lost an unimaginable number of friends in the Lokomotiv tragedy.

So some empathy and good-natured praise here: Evgeni Nabokov's new mask design is kind of cool ... and dare we say it hints he's not punting on this whole "I'm an Islander?" thing? Check InGoal Magazine for photos from the artist.

The mask certainly has more of an Islanders theme than emergency acquisition Al Montoya's did last year. And while it's the skull motif Nabokov has used throughout his career, at least it looks much better in Orange & Blue than ... teal.