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. Tony was the younger brother of Phil Esposito, a centre. Both brothers had notable careers and are enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 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. Hockey career Early years Esposito grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with his brother, fellow future NHL star Phil Esposito. Phil described why Tony wound up playing goalie as a child: "Tony and I would play by ourselves or we'd get two other guys and practice shooting. One guy would be the goaltender and the others would shoot and the guy with the fewest goals would take over in goal. Tony won't like me saying this, but he always lost. I guess you could say that's how he wound up as a goalie." He played college ice hockey for Michigan Tech. A three-year hockey varsity letter winner, Esposito was a three-time first-team All-America selection. He was a driving force in helping the Michigan Tech Huskies to the 1964–65 NCAA Championship and was named a first-team NCAA All-Tournament Team choice in 1965. Esposito was also a three-time All-WCHA first-team selection. In 2021, Esposito was named to the WCHA All-Decade Team for the 1960s. Esposito turned professional 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