Beneath the mask that protects Jonathan Bernier is an another invisible mask, his own personal protection.
He doesn’t want you to know what he’s really thinking. He doesn’t show much facially. You don’t get a lot of introspection or self-awareness, just the usual line about having his confidence or not having his confidence.
He can cliche about as well as Curtis Joseph could, a little better than Ed Belfour would. He just hasn’t been the kind of self-assured Maple Leafs goaltender either of those men were in the past.
This hockey season has been an elongated trial for Bernier, with twists, turns, ups, downs, and no shortage of subplots for the goalie forever searching to be what he believes himself to be.