Tony Esposito

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Tony Esposito
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1988
Born	(1943-04-23) April 23, 1943 Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Played for	WHL  Vancouver Canucks CHL  Houston Apollos NHL  Montreal Canadiens  Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career	1967–1984

For the Italian musician, please see Tony Esposito (musician).

Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (born April 23, 1943 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style.

Hockey career

Early years

Esposito grew up Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with his brother, fellow future NHL star Phil Esposito. He played college hockey for Michigan Tech University.

A three-year hockey letterwinner, Esposito was a three-time first-team All-America selection. He was a driving force in helping the Huskies to the 1964–65 NCAA Championship and was named a first-team NCAA All-Tournament Team choice in 1965. Still currently the MTU career leader in goals against average (2.55) and second in career saved percentage (.912), Esposito was also a three-time All-WCHA first-team selection.

Esposito turned pro with Vancouver in the Western Hockey League in 1967–68 and played with the Houston Apollos in the Central League in 1968–69.

He first played in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1968–69 season. A famous game against the Boston Bruins, led by his brother Phil, ended in a 2–2 tie, in which Phil scored both goals for Boston. Esposito played 13 regular season games, due to both Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon being injuried. However, Esposito returned to the minors when they both returned from their injuries. Worsley was injuried again during the playoffs, so Esposito was called again. Tony Esposito served as backup to Vachon dressing for all 4 games in the finals. Tony name was added to the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens club was very deep in goaltenders at that time, with Gump Worsley, Rogie Vachon and others in the system. As a result, Esposito was left unprotected by the Canadiens in 1969.

Rise to fame

For 1969–70, the Chicago Black Hawks (the team name during Esposito's playing days) claimed him from Montreal on waivers, known at the time as the "intra-league draft". Esposito had a spectacular season with Chicago, posting a 2.17 GAA and setting a modern day NHL record with 15 shutouts. Having not played enough games with Montreal, he was still eligible for, and won the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. He also took the Vezina Trophy and was named to the First All-Star team at season's end. He also balloted second for league MVP (Hart Trophy). It was during this record setting season he earned the nickname Tony 'O'. In 1970–71, he again proved to be one of the league's top goalies and helped Chicago finish first in the NHL's West division. The Black Hawks made it to the Stanley Cup finals, but lost in 7 games to Montreal. The following season he posted the lowest GAA of his career (1.77) and shared the Vezina with backup Gary Smith. He was again selected to the NHL's 1st All-Star team.

Esposito was named to Team Canada for the Summit Series of September, 1972. He was the first goalie to earn a win against the Soviets, splitting Canada's goaltending duties with Montreal's Ken Dryden. Esposito posted the lowest GAA of the three goalies who appeared in the series.

Despite the loss of Bobby Hull, Esposito and the Hawks led their division in 1972–73, but lost the Stanley Cup in 6 games to Montreal. 1973–74 was another brilliant season with a sparkling 2.04 GAA and 10 shutouts. Esposito won his 3rd Vezina, sharing it with Philadelphia's Bernie Parent.

The Black Hawks declined the next few seasons although Esposito remained among the top netminders in the NHL. In 1979–80, Esposito enjoyed a fine season with 6 shutouts and his third 1st All-Star team selection. In 1981 he adopted an American citizenship and played for Team USA in the Canada Cup (he had previously represented Canada at the 1977 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament). He played a few more seasons in the Windy city, retiring after the 1983–84 season.

Tony Esposito is the younger brother of Phil Esposito, who also played for Team Canada during the Summit Series of 1972.

Trivia

• Tony O. was one of just eight goalies to win the Vezina catching the puck right-handed. The other seven were fellow Hawks' legend Charlie Gardiner (in 1932 and 1934), the New York Rangers' Davey Kerr (1940), ambidextrous Montreal goalie Bill Durnan (1944—47, 1949 and 1950), the New York Rangers' Gilles Villemure (1971), Tom Barrasso of the Buffalo Sabres (1984), Edmonton Oilers' Grant Fuhr (1988) and José Théodore of the Montreal Canadiens in 2002.

• In a naming oddity, Tony's first name is the same as his older brother's middle name.

Retirement

He retired from professional play in 1985 and was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. His number 35 was retired by the Blackhawks.

Tony Esposito later became General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins rather briefly, where he hired former Black Hawks teammate Gene Ubriaco as head coach, until they were both terminated.

In 1991, when his brother helped found the Tampa Bay Lightning, Phil hired Tony as chief scout. Legend has it that they came up with the team name during a thunderstorm. Both Espositos were fired in 1998.

In 1998, he was ranked number 79 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

In 2007, Tony was inducted (alongside brother Phil) into the Sault Ste Marie Walk of Fame.

On March 19, 2008, the Chicago Blackhawks honored Esposito with "Tony Esposito Night", where he was formally introduced as an Ambassador to the Blackhawks organization. Then-Blackhawk goaltenders Patrick Lalime and Nikolai Khabibulin both wore Esposito's #35 jerseys in the pre-game warmups, and Khabibulin recorded a shutout in a Hawks 5–0 win over the Washington Capitals

Awards and accomplishments

• Stanley Cup Champion (1969)
• Calder Memorial Trophy (1970)
• NHL First All-Star Team Goalie (1970, 1972, 1980)
• NHL Second All-Star Team Goalie (1973, 1974)
• Vezina Trophy (1970, 1972, 1974)
• Member of Canadian national team at 1972 Summit Series and 1977 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament
• Played for United States national team in the 1981 Canada Cup

cool as ice

In popular culture

• Garth Algar (Dana Carvey) wears Esposito's jersey while playing road hockey in Wayne's World and Wayne's World 2.
• He made an appearance in the second season of Rent-a-Goalie playing poker alongside his brother Phil.

Career statistics

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA
1962–63	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	NOJHA		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1963–64	Michigan Tech Huskies	WCHA		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1964–65	Michigan Tech Huskies	WCHA		17	-	-	-	-	-	1	2.35
1965–66	Michigan Tech Huskies	WCHA		19	-	-	-	-	-	1	2.68
1966–67	Michigan Tech Huskies	WCHA		15	-	-	-	-	-	0	2.60
1967–68	Vancouver Canucks	WHL		63	25	33	4	3734	199	4	3.20
1968–69	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		13	5	4	4	746	34	2	2.73
1968–69	Houston Apollos	CHL		19	10	7	2	1139	46	1	2.42
1969–70	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		63	38	17	9	3763	136	15	2.17
1970–71	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		57	35	14	6	3325	126	6	2.27
1971–72	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		48	31	10	6	2780	82	9	1.77
1972–73	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		56	32	17	7	3340	140	4	2.51
1973–74	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		70	34	14	21	4143	141	10	2.04
1974–75	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		71	34	30	7	4219	193	6	2.74
1975–76	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		68	30	23	13	4003	198	4	2.97
1976–77	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		69	25	36	8	4067	234	2	3.45
1977–78	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		68	28	22	14	3840	168	5	2.63
1978–79	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		63	24	28	11	3780	206	4	3.27
1979–80	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		69	31	22	16	4140	205	6	2.97
1980–81	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		66	29	23	14	3935	246	0	3.75
1981–82	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		52	19	25	8	3069	231	1	4.52
1982–83	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		39	23	11	5	2340	135	1	3.46
1983–84	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL		18	5	10	3	1095	88	1	4.82
NHL totals				886	423	306	151	52,583	2563	76	2.92

See also

• Notable families in the NHL

External links

• Tony Esposito biography at Legends of Hockey
• Tony Esposito career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database