Tony Esposito (born on April 23, 1943) is a retired professional ice hockey goaltender, who played in the National Hockey League. 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 1968-1969 season serving as the backup goalie. A famous game against the Boston Bruins, lead 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.
The next year he moved to the Chicago Black Hawks 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 team All-Stars. 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 Black Hawks to the Stanley Cup finals, but they lost to Montreal. The next year he shared the Vezina with his back-up goalie Gary Smith. He played in the 1972 Summit Series along with Ken Dryden. He was the first goalie to earn a win against the Soviets. In 1973 the Black Hawks again lost to Montreal in the finals. In 1974 he again won the Vezina, but shared the honour with Bernie Parent.
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 team due to his six shutouts.
In 1981 he adopted an American citizenship and played for them in the Canada Cup. He retired from professional play in 1985 and was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
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 1992, when his brother helped found the Tampa Bay Lightning, he hired Tony as chief scout. Both Espositos were fired in 1998.
