Tony Esposito

Tony Esposito
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1988
Esposito with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1973
Born (1943-04-23)April 23, 1943
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Died August 10, 2021(2021-08-10) (aged 78)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Right
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Chicago Black Hawks
National team  Canada and
 United States
Playing career 1967–1984

Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (April 23, 1943 – August 10, 2021) was a Canadian-American professional ice hockey goaltender, who played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), 15 of those for the Chicago Black Hawks. He was one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style.[1] Tony was the younger brother of Phil Esposito, a centre. Both brothers had notable careers and are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.[2][3] Esposito's jersey number 35 was retired by the Blackhawks in 1988.

Esposito won the NHL's Vezina Trophy, then awarded to the goaltender(s) of the team which allowed the fewest goals in the regular season, three times, most notably in 1970, when he recorded the modern (since 1942) NHL record of 15 shutouts in a season. He was also awarded the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in the league that season. He was named to the league's First All-Star Team three times and to the Second All-Star Team two times, and served as one of Canada's two goaltenders in the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the Soviet Union. In 2017 Esposito was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[4]

  1. ^ Seligman, Andrew (10 August 2021). "Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Tony Esposito dead at 78". CBC Sports. The Associated Press. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. ^ Pelletier, Joe. "Tony Esposito". blogspot.com. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Tony Esposito". canadiens.com. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  4. ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". National Hockey League. January 27, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.