Tony Esposito Anthony James " Tony O " Esposito ( born April 23 , 1943 in Sault Ste . Marie , Ontario ) is a retired professional 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 . Hockey career . 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 . 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 . A famous game against the Boston Bruins , led by his brother Phil , ended in a 2 – 2 tie , in which Phil scored both goals for Boston . Esposito played 13 regular season games , due to both Gump Worsley and Rogatien 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 4 games in the finals . Tony ' s name was added to the Stanley Cup with the Montreal Canadiens . As the Canadiens club was very deep in goaltenders at that time , with Gump Worsley , Rogatien Vachon and others in the system , Esposito was left unprotected by the Canadiens in 1969 . Rise to fame . For 1969 – 70 , the Chicago Black Hawks claimed him from Montreal on waivers , known at the time as the " intra - league draft " . Esposito had a spectacular season with Chicago , posting a 2 . 17 GAA and setting a modern day NHL record with 15 shutouts . Having not played enough games with Montreal , he was still eligible for , and won the Calder Trophy as the league ' s best rookie . He also took the Vezina Trophy and was named to the First All - Star team at season ' s end . He also balloted second for league MVP ( Hart Trophy ) . It was during this record setting season he earned the nickname Tony ' O ' . In 1970 – 71 , he again proved to be one of the league ' s top goalies and helped Chicago finish first in the NHL ' s West division . The Black Hawks made it to the Stanley Cup finals , but lost in 7 games to Montreal . The following season he posted the lowest GAA of his career ( 1 . 77 ) and shared the Vezina with backup Gary Smith . He was again selected to the NHL ' s 1st All - Star team . Esposito was named to Team Canada for the Summit Series of September , 1972 . He was the first goalie to earn a win against the Soviets , splitting Canada ' s goaltending duties with Montreal ' s Ken Dryden . Esposito posted the lowest GAA of the three goalies who appeared in the series . Despite the loss of Bobby Hull , Esposito and the Hawks led their division in 1972 – 73 , but lost the Stanley Cup Final in 6 games to Montreal . 1973 – 74 was another brilliant season with a sparkling 2 . 04 GAA and 10 shutouts . Esposito won his 3rd Vezina , sharing it with Philadelphia ' s Bernie Parent . The Black Hawks declined the next few seasons although Esposito remained among the top netminders in the NHL . In 1979 – 80 , Esposito enjoyed a fine season with 6 shutouts and his third 1st All - Star team selection . In 1981 he became an American citizen and played for Team USA in the Canada Cup ( he had previously represented Canada at the 1977 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament ) . He played a few more seasons in the Chicago , retiring after the 1983 – 84 season . Tony Esposito is the younger brother of Phil Esposito , who also played for Team Canada during the Summit Series of 1972 . 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 Black Hawks teammate Gene Ubriaco as head coach , until they were both terminated . In 1991 , when his brother helped found the Tampa Bay Lightning , Phil hired Tony as chief scout . Both Espositos were fired in 1998 . In 1998 , he was ranked number 79 on List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News , 61 places behind No . 18 - ranked Phil . In 2007 , Tony was inducted ( alongside brother Phil ) into the " Sault Ste Marie Walk of Fame " . On March 19 , 2008 , the Chicago Blackhawks honoured Esposito with " Tony Esposito Night " , where he was formally introduced as an Ambassador in the Blackhawks organization . Then - Blackhawk goaltenders Patrick Lalime and Nikolai Khabibulin both wore Esposito ' s # 35 jerseys in the pre - game warmups , and Khabibulin recorded a shutout in a Hawks 5 – 0 win over the Washington Capitals .