BLOG: Blackhawks to Honor Tony Esposito with Jersey Patch, Logo in Ice

The Blackhawks and the hockey community lost an icon this past offseason with the
passing of Hall of Fame netminder Tony Esposito
on August 10.
All season long, beginning with tonight's preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings, the team will honor the franchise legend with a '35' patch on both their home and away jerseys, as well as a '35' logo in the ice behind each net at the United Center.

After being acquired on a waiver claim on June 15, 1969, Tony O, as he became to be known, went 38-17 with eight ties the very next season, posting a 2.17 goals-against average and 15 shutouts, still the modern-day single-season record for an NHL goalie. Esposito won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year, the Vezina Trophy for helping Chicago allow the fewest goals, and joined his brother Phil, a center with the Boston Bruins, as an NHL First-Team All-Star.
The netminder bacstopped Chicago to the playoffs in each of his first 14 seasons, including the Stanley Cup Final in 1971 and 1973. A three-time Vezina winner (also 1971-72 and 1973-74), he ended his NHL career as a 40-year-old in 1984 with a record of 423-306 with 152 ties, a 2.93 GAA and 76 shutouts. Esposito was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988 and had his number retired to the rafters at Chicago Stadium that same year. He returned to the organization in 2008 as a team ambassador, a role he held and thrived in until his untimely passing.