Tony Esposito was born on April 23, 1944, in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. His nickname was "Mr. Zero" because of all his shutouts. He played in goal for the Hawks from 1969 to 1984. Tony played junior hockey on a team partly owned by his father. He later earned a hockey scholarship to Michigan Tech. Esposito was acquired by the Hawks from the Montreal Canadiens on June 15, 1969 for $25,000.

The five-time all-star holds the current Blackhawks record for career shutouts with 74. In 1984, Esposito asked Hawks management to terminate his contract before the trading deadline. They were afraid he would sign with the Minnesota North Stars and they would have to play against him in the playoffs. The Hawks didn't release him and he refused to play the last game of the regular season. He was not invited to training camp the next season and his career came to a sad end. Tony's brother, Phil, also played for the Blackhawks from 1963 to 1967 before going on to greatness with the Boston Bruins. Tony is currently the director of hockey operations for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

 Season   Games   Goals Against  Shutouts   GAA
1969-70    63         136           15     2.17
1970-71    57         126            6     2.27
1971-72    48          82            9     1.76
1972-73    56         140            4     2.51
1973-74    70         141           10     2.04
1974-75    71         193            6     2.74
1975-76    68         198            4     2.97
1976-77    69         234            2     3.45
1977-78    64         168            5     2.63
1978-79    63         206            4     3.27
1979-80    69         205            6     2.97
1980-81    66         246            0     3.75
1981-82    52         231            1     4.52
1982-83    39         135            1     3.46
1983-84    18          88            1     4.82
 Totals   873        2529           74     2.92