1973-74 O-Pee-Chee 90 Tony Esposito Hockey Card (Front)
1973-74 O-Pee-Chee 90 Tony Esposito Hockey Card (Back)
1973-74 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Tony holds the modern NHL record for shutouts with 15 in his rookie season of 1969-70. He also won the Calder Trophy that year. He has an unorthodox style. He was originally owned by Montreal. Tony and brother Phil may become Hall of Famers.
En Français
Tony détient le record des blanchissages des temps modernes dans la LNH avec 15 durant sa première saison en 1969-70. Il décrocha aussi le Trophée Calder cette année-là. Son style n’est vraiment pas orthodoxe. Il appartenait initialement aux Canadiens.
Details
To this day, Tony Esposito still owns the modern NHL record for most shutouts in a season. The all-time record is 22 by George Hainsworth of the Montreal Canadiens in 1928-29 but the game played then is almost unrecognizable from the hockey since 1950. Harry Lumley (1953-54 Toronto Maple Leafs) and Dominik Hasek (1997-98 Buffalo Sabres) have come close with 13 shutout seasons.
Three times during that 1969-70 NHL season, Esposito had consecutive game shutouts. He also played a 0-0 tie game against his brother’s team, the Boston Bruins. In that match on March 11, 1970 at Chicago Stadium, Tony stopped 24 shots while Boston goalie Ed Johnston turned away 32. Seven of the 24 Boston shots were off the stick of Bobby Orr.
As for the prediction by O-Pee-Chee that both Tony and Phil Esposito would be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, they were bang on. Phil entered the Hall first in 1984 and younger brother Tony was enshrined in 1988.
Between 1968-69 and 1983-84, Tony Esposito appeared in 886 regular season and 99 playoff games in the National Hockey League. All but 13 games played for the Montreal Canadiens in 1968-69 were with the Blackhawks. He was a Vezina Trophy winner three times, a First Team All-Star three times and a Second Team All-Star twice.