Tony Esposito

In 1972, Esposito played in the famous Summit Series, Team Canada vs. Team USSR, on Team Canada with his brother. This was one of the only times they played together after their youth. While Esposito was supposed to be backup to number one goalie Ken Dryden, he ended up playing in games two, three, five, and seven. He won games two and seven, tied game three, and lost game five.

While Esposito remained a top-level goalie for the rest of his career, the Blackhawks began to slip after the 1972-73 season. That season, the team appeared in the Stanley Cup finals, but again lost. This would be the last time that Esposito would be close to winning the Cup. In 1974, he won the Vezina Trophy (tying with Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers). By the 1979-80 season, Esposito was still appearing in nearly every game for the Blackhawks, with a goals against of 2.25, but was not really happy with the team and its direction.

Esposito continued to play almost all the games in 1980-81, though the demands of travel and the games themselves were hard on his 38-year-old body. He wanted to play, and he played well. However, he had a high goals against of 3.06 because of the ineffective Chicago defense. By the 1982 season, the team improved slightly, and Esposito's play did as well. He was also involved as the head of the NHL Player's Association.