Goaltending master of the ‘butterfly’
When most goaltenders were standing up to face low shots on net — something they were coached to do — Tony Esposito dropped to the ice with his leg pads extended on both sides, commonly known as the “butterfly” technique. He was credited with popularizing the technique, which became standard for goaltenders.
In addition, he tried to gain a competitive edge by stuffing his leg pads, wearing baggier jerseys and piling ice shavings in the crease. At one point, he put webbing between his legs (which he didn’t get away with for long). The NHL eventually instituted stricter rules about equipment.
“We were always suspicious of Tony Esposito,” said former NHL referee Bryan Lewis in an episode of the A&E show Biography about Esposito. “And he would be the master. He’s probably changed the game for goalies over the years.”
Esposito, the longtime Chicago Black Hawks goaltender whose acrobatic saves made him one of the top netminders of the 1970s, died Tuesday at 78 of pancreatic cancer, according to a statement from the Blackhawks.
While his older brother Phil was already a star with the Boston Bruins, Esposito entered the NHL in 1968 with the Montreal Canadiens, playing only 13 games. He was soon let go, and he signed with Phil’s former team, the Black Hawks, joining an outfit that included established superstars Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.
Still technically a rookie in the 1969-70 season, Esposito had a year for the ages, as he earned the nickname “Tony O” by posting a rookie record of 15 shutouts in a season. He also led goaltenders in victories with 38, won the Calder trophy as Rookie of the Year and the first of three Vezina trophies, given to the goalie of the year, and he finished second in Most Valuable Player voting to Boston’s Bobby Orr.
“I want the shutout,” Esposito told Biography. “I don’t want to win 5-3. I want to win 5-0. If you compete at that level, you want to win. In fact, I want to win when I play checkers, for crying out loud. At any cost.”
For 15 seasons, Esposito was a star with the Black Hawks, leading them to the Stanley Cup finals in 1971 and 1973, only to lose both times to the Canadiens.
In 1972, he joined his brother — the team’s captain — on Team Canada for what was known as the Summit Series.
For the first time, Canadian professionals faced the Soviet national team, playing eight games split between the two countries. Despite years of Soviet dominance in international competition, North American hockey pundits expected Canada’s best players to win easily.
Esposito, who split goaltending duties with Ken Dryden, played Game 2 in Toronto, and the brothers were named co-stars of the 4-1 win. He also played in Game 3, which ended in a tie. When the series moved to Moscow, he won a game and lost a game, but the coaches tapped Dryden to play in Game 8, which the Canadians won, clinching what has been called the best hockey series of all time.
In other international tournaments, Esposito played for Canada in the 1977 Ice Hockey World Championships. Then he became a U.S. citizen and played for the United States in the 1981 Canada Cup tournament.
Anthony James Esposito was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. on April 23, 1943. His father worked in one of the city’s steel mills.
Growing up on the eastern tip of Lake Superior, parts of which froze for much of the winter, the Esposito brothers gravitated naturally to hockey. Phil made Tony play goalie so he could practice his shooting. They brought their equipment to the ice using a toboggan.
The brothers faced each other many times over the years, with the media promoting the games as “Esposito vs. Esposito.” In Tony Esposito’s first full game as a starter with the Canadiens, Phil scored twice in a 2-2 tie.
“Tony’s wife, Marilyn, and our mother said the same thing: ‘How could you do that to your brother? You’re going to ruin his career before it starts,’ “Phil Esposito recalled in an interview with Nhl.com in 2017, when he and Tony were named two of the top 100 NHL players.
Unlike many hockey stars of that era, Esposito went to college, helping Michigan Tech win the 1964-1965 NCAA championship. He received a bachelor’s degree in business in 1967.
Esposito married his childhood sweetheart, Marilyn Mezzone, in 1966. She survives him, in addition to their two sons, Mark and Jason, and two grandchildren.
After he retired from playing in 1984, Esposito briefly served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
While his time with the team was short, he added two key players who would help the team win two Stanley Cups in the early 1990s: Mark Recchi and goalie Tom Barrasso.
In 1992, Phil Esposito founded the Tampa Bay Lightning and promptly hired Tony as the head scout. The brothers worked for the team until they were fired a few months after it was sold in 1998.
Esposito was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, the same year his jersey number, 35, was retired by the Blackhawks (which had changed the team name from Black Hawks two years earlier). In 2017, he and has brother were named two the NHL’S top 100 players of all time.