Tony Esposito, a Hall of Fame goaltender who starred for the Chicago Blackhawks for 15 seasons, died Tuesday, the team said. He was 78.
Esposito died of pancreatic cancer, the Blackhawks said in a statement.
“Tony was one of the most important and popular figures in the history of the franchise as we near its 100th anniversary,” Hawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz said in a statement. “Four generations of our family -- my grandfather Arthur, my father Bill, my son Danny and I -- were blessed by his work ethic as a Hall of Fame goalie, but more importantly, by his mere presence and spirit.”
Esposito began his career with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1968-69 season but was left unprotected and was taken by Chicago in the interleague draft, the Chicago Tribune reported.
“I was behind two veterans in Montreal, Rogie Vachon and Gump Worsley,” Esposito told NHL.com in 2017. “So I was anxious to go to a place where I might have a chance to play more. Plus, I had played a game against the Blackhawks the previous season. Even though they were struggling a bit, they had a lot of talent. I thought they had a strong upside, good possibilities.”
Esposito blossomed in Chicago, winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year in 1970 and also won the Vezina Trophy, given to the league’s top goaltender.
Esposito also won the Vezina Trophy in 1972 and 1974.
Esposito won 418 games for the Blackhawks, making him the winningest goalie in franchise history, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. He recorded 74 shutouts -- also a franchise record -- and was a six-time All-Star.
“From his arrival in the Windy City in the late 1960s through an illustrious playing career and decades as a franchise icon, Tony left an indelible mark -- both on the ice and in the community -- over the next 52 years,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “Beyond the individual awards...it was Esposito’s style, charisma and heart that endeared him most to hockey fans, not only in Chicago but across the NHL.”
Esposito was one of the pioneers of the butterfly style of goalkeeping and won 30 or more games eight times, the Tribune reported.
“Tony and his wife, Marilyn, invited me to their house once for dinner and I saw Tony’s pads by the back door,” Wirtz told the newspaper. “The league would measure them and then he’d take them home and he had a big needle and he would restuff his pads and then would sew them back up.”
Esposito was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.
Along with his older brother, Phil Esposito, a fellow Hall of Famer who starred for the Blackhawks, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers from 1963 to 1981, Tony Esposito was a member of the Canadian national team that played in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union, the Tribune reported.
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Cloris Leachman Actress Cloris Leachman, whose eight-decade career included an Oscar-winning performance in "The Last Picture Show" and a role as the grim-faced Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein,” died Jan. 2. She was 94. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP file)
Jimmie Rodgers Jimmie Rodgers, who scored his biggest hit with "Honeycomb" in 1957, died Jan. 18. He was 87. (Jim McCrary/Redfern)
Legendary talk show host Larry King dead at 87 FILE PHOTO: Legendary talk show host Larry King has died. He was 87. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Gregory Sierra Gregory Sierra, who played Sgt. Miguel “Chano” Amanguale on "Barney Miller," died Jan. 4. Sierra also starred on "Sanford and Son" and appeared in several other television shows. (Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
Bob Avian Tony Award-winning choreographer Bob Avian died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 21. He was 83. (Shiho Fukada/Associated Press, File)
Mira Furlan Actress Mira Furlan, who starred in all 111 episodes of "Babylon 5" and also appeared in "Lost." died Jan. 20. She was 65. ( Michael Schwartz/WireImage)
Baseball legend Hank Aaron dead at 86 FILE PHOTO: Legendary baseball slugger Henry “Hank” Aaron has died. He was 86. (Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)
Don Sutton Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, who won 324 games and pitched for six pennant winners during his 23-year major league baseball career, died Jan. 18. He was 75. ( Andrew Snook/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Harry Brant Harry Brant, the son of supermodel Stephanie Seymour and businessman Peter Brant, died Jan. 17 from an accidental overdose. He was 24. ( Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)
Phil Spector has died at 81 FILE PHOTO: Music producer Phil Spector, known for his "Wall of Sound" and who was later convicted of murder, has died. He was 81. (Pool/Getty Images)
Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain Sylvain, a guitarist for the New York Dolls, a group that ushered in the punk rock era of the 1970s, died Jan. 13. He was 69. ( Matt Kent/WireImage)
Siegfried Fischbacher FILE PHOTO: Siegfried Fischbacher speaks during the 23rd annual Keep Memory Alive 'Power of Love Gala' benefit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health at MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fischbacher died Jan. 15 at the age of 81. (Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Keep Memory Ali)
Sheldon Adelson FILE - This Feb. 10, 2017 file photo, Chief Executive of Las Vegas Sands Corporation Sheldon Adelson shows at a business roundtable with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. Adelson, the billionaire mogul and power broker who built a casino empire spanning from Las Vegas to China and became a singular force in domestic and international politics has died after a long illness, his wife said Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (Andrew Harnik/AP)
Eve Branson FILE PHOTO: Richard Branson (L) and honoree Eve Branson attend the AltaMed Power Up, We Are The Future Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on May 12, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Richard Branson announced the death of his mother due to COVID-19. (Michael Kovac)
Nancy Bush Ellis FILE PHOTO: This Jan. 7, 1990, file photo shows President George H. W. Bush hiding behind his sister, Nancy Ellis, as he prepares for a jog along the C&O canal in the Georgetown section of Washington. A longtime Democrat who helped her Republican brother and nephew get elected president, died of complications of the coronavirus Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, at an assisted living facility in Concord, Massachusetts. She was 94. (Marcy Nighswander/AP)
Actor John Reilly dead at 86 Actor John Reilly is pictured holding his daughter, Caitlyn Reilly, when she was a child. The longtime soap opera actor died in early January 2021 of an undisclosed cause. (Courtesy Caitlyn Reilly)
Tommy Lasorda FILE PHOTO: Tommy Lasorda of the Los Angeles Dodgers poses for a portrait during spring training photo day at Camelback Ranch on February 20, 2014 in Glendale, Arizona. The Dodgers announced Lasorda died at the age of 93. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Neil Sheehan Neil Sheehan, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author whose articles on the Pentagon Papers triggered a court battle, died Jan. 7. He was 84. (Frederic Reglain/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Eric Jerome Dickey Bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey died Jan. 3 in Los Angeles. He was 59. (Joseph Jones via Associated Press )
Tanya Roberts FILE PHOTO: Actress Tanya Roberts arrives at the gala premiere of "Criss Angel Believe" by Cirque du Soleil at the Luxor Resort & Casino October 31, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The former Bond girl died Jan. 4 at the age of 65. Her death was confirmed after conflicting reports from her publicist and her companion. (Ethan Miller)
Gerry Marsden FILE PHOTO - In this April 25, 1964 file photo, Gerry Marsden leaps over his band, the Pacemakers. Gerry Marsden, the British singer and lead singer of Gerry and the Pacemakers, who was instrumental in turning a song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “Carousel” into one of the great anthems in the world of football, has died. He was 78. (AP)
Paul Westphal Hall of Fame basketball coach Paul Westphal died Jan. 2, the Phoenix Suns announced. He was 70. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Floyd Little Hall of Fame running back Floyd Little, who starred at Syracuse University and for the NFL's Denver Broncos, died Jan. 1. He was 78. ( Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images)