Tony Esposito
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anthony James Esposito (born April 23, 1943 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League. He is considered one of the pioneers of the now popular butterfly style.
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[edit] Hockey career
[edit] 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.
He first played pro for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1968-69 season serving as the backup goalie. A famous game against the Boston Bruins, led by his brother Phil, ended in a 0-0 tie. As backup goalie he won the Stanley Cup, but did not actually play any games in the playoffs.
[edit] Rise to fame
The next year he moved to the Chicago Blackhawks and with Chicago had a spectacular season setting a modern day NHL record with 15 shutouts. He won both the Calder Trophy and the Vezina Trophy and made the First All-Star Team, as well as being runner-up for the Hart Memorial Trophy. The next year he again proved to be one of the league's best goalies and was again nominated for the Vezina. He took the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup finals, but they lost to Montreal. The next year he shared the Vezina with backup Gary Smith. He played in the 1972 Summit Series along with the Habs' Ken Dryden. He was the first goalie to earn a win against the Soviets. In 1973 the Blackhawks again lost to Montreal in the finals. In 1974 he again won the Vezina, sharing the honour with Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers.
The next several years, as Montreal and Philadelphia dominated the league, Esposito and the Black Hawks suffered through a series of mediocre seasons. In 1980 he returned to the All Star First Team after posting six shutouts. In 1981 he adopted an American citizenship and played for them in the Canada Cup.
[edit] 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 Blueshirts' Gilles Villemure (1971), Tom Barrasso of the Buffalo Sabres (1984), Edmonton Oilers' Grant Fuhr (1988) and José Théodore of the Habs in 2002.
[edit] 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 Blackhawks teammate Gene Ubriaco as head coach, until they were both terminated.
In 1992, 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.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Danny Grant |
Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy 1970 |
Succeeded by Gilbert Perreault |
| Preceded by Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante |
Winner of the Vezina Trophy 1970 |
Succeeded by Eddie Giacomin and Gilles Villemure |
| Preceded by Eddie Giacomin and Gilles Villemure |
Winner of the Vezina Trophy with Gary Smith 1972 |
Succeeded by Ken Dryden |
| Preceded by Ken Dryden |
Winner of the Vezina Trophy tied with Bernie Parent 1974 |
Succeeded by Bernie Parent |
| Preceded by Eddie Johnston |
General manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins 1988 - 1989 |
Succeeded by Craig Patrick |
Categories: 1943 births | American ice hockey players | Calder Trophy winners | Canadian expatriate ice hockey people in the United States | Canadian ice hockey goaltenders | Chicago Blackhawks players | 1972 Team Canada players | Hockey Hall of Fame | Canada's Sports Hall of Fame | Italian Canadians | Italian-American sportspeople | Living people | Montreal Canadiens players | Canadian immigrants to the United States | Naturalized citizens of the United States | Ontario sportspeople | People from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario | Stanley Cup champions | Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players | Vezina Trophy winners | Michigan Tech Huskies ice hockey players | National Hockey League All-Stars
