Tony Esposito
| Tony Esposito | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1988 | |||
Esposito in 1973
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| Born |
April 23, 1943 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Goaltender | ||
| Caught | Right | ||
| Played for |
WCHA Michigan Tech Huskies WHL Vancouver Canucks CHL Houston Apollos NHL Montreal Canadiens Chicago Black Hawks |
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| National team |
 Canada  United States
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| Playing career | 1967–1984 | ||
Anthony James "Tony O" Esposito (born April 23, 1943) is a retired Canadian-American 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. Tony is the younger brother of Phil Esposito, a centre. Both brothers had notable careers and are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. On January 27, 2017, in a ceremony during the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Esposito was part of the second group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Esposito grew up Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with his brother, fellow future NHL star Phil Esposito. He played college hockey for Michigan Tech.
A three-year hockey letter winner, 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 the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Hockey League in 1967–68 and played with the Houston Apollos in the Central Hockey League in 1968–69.
He first played in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1968–69 season. He made his NHL debut against the Oakland Seals, playing 26 minutes in relief of Rogie Vachon. His first NHL start was against the Boston Bruins, then led by his brother Phil. The game ended in a 2–2 tie, in which Phil scored both goals for Boston and Tony made 33 saves. Esposito played thirteen regular season games, due to both Gump Worsley and Vachon being injured. However, Esposito returned to the minors when they both returned from their injuries. Worsley was injured again during the playoffs, so Esposito was called again. Tony Esposito served as backup to Vachon, dressing for all four games in the finals. As the Canadiens club was deep in goaltenders at that time, with Worsley, Vachon and other prospects in the system, Esposito was left unprotected by the Canadiens in 1969.
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