Tony Esposito passed away today after a brief battle with one of the fiercest cancers, one that attacks the pancreas. Family, friends, the Hawks organization and hockey fans are certainly heartbroken by this terrible news. Of course, the Chicago franchise delivered a powerful tribute via a press release to express their feelings following this announcement.
Esposito is one of the three greatest in the history of this franchise, he holds several records. In his career, he played 886 times in front of the net, including 13 games in a Montreal Canadiens uniform. He then ended up in Chicago, where he spent 15 years and collected no less than 418 wins (423 in total).
He was born in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and won three Vezina trophies in his career as well as the National Hockey League Rookie of the Year award (1969-70). He is also one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history, which is quite an accomplishment.
