When did the helmet become part of the NHL uniform?

[ColeJ 1,268]

Does anyone know what year the NHL mandated that all helmets on one team be the same color? I would assume that the early helmet wearers had one helmet, and not contrasting ones for home and road. at what point did teams decide that the canadiens would wear blue helmets with their red sweaters (matching their blue pants), while the rangers would wear blue helmets with their blue sweaters (contrasting their red pants)?

are there any photos of two players on one team wearing helmet colors that don't match? or a player wearing a helmet that doesn't fit in with what you'd expect it to be? (like a white helmet with a blue leafs jersey, or a blue helmet on boston?)

[nash61 1,804]

The only one I can think of was a guy on Montreal wearing his blue helmet with the white jerseys. I can't remember his name, so finding pics is hard.

[illini1 83]

I'm not sure what year it was, but I remember still seeing a few guys not wearing helmets in the 80's. I think they made it optional for players who were in the league before a certain year. It was probably late 70's or early 80's. MLB did the same thing with ear flaps on batting helmets. There were still several players in the 80's that didn't have ear flaps on their helmets.

[Kramerica Industries 1,991]

Can't really answer the first question in this thread, but the helmets became mandatory for first-time players in 1979, and Craig MacTavish was the last player to go helmetless, until he retired in 1997.

And, was it Kerry Fraser

was the last to go helmetless period, correct?

[sportstar1212 447]

Can't really answer the first question in this thread, but the helmets became mandatory for first-time players in 1979, and Craig MacTavish was the last player to go helmetless, until he retired in 1997.

And, was it Kerry Fraser

was the last to go helmetless period, correct?

I believe you're right. Kerry Fraser wore a helmet for the last 5 or so years of his career.

[Bobby 21 0]

The only one I can think of was a guy on Montreal wearing his blue helmet with the white jerseys. I can't remember his name, so finding pics is hard.

J. C. Tremblay

[oddball 204]

I would probably think 1979 would be the answer to the standardizing of helmet colors. As far as what colors a team wore, that would be up to the team itself. By the way, the first player to wear a helmet was Eddie Shore in 1928, a leather football helmet.

[timmy b 1]

J.C. Tremblay and Bobby Rousseau both started wearing blue helmets for the Habs in 1966, I believe.

Note that Stan Mikita began wearing a black helmet with the red jersey for the Black Hawks (two words then) at about the same time.

Also, recall the Flyers helmeted guys were all in black helmets to go with their orange jerseys from the start in 1967 as well as the Penguins going dark blue helmets with their light blue sweaters in '67 as well.