NHL Hockey Trivia: Tony and Phil Esposito

Phil and Tony Esposito are two brothers that played in the National Hockey League in the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Both are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, both have their jersey numbers retired by an NHL club and both were members of Team Canada at the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union.

One brother started his National Hockey League career with the same team the other ended up with. Read on and find out what team that was.

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the Esposito brothers with the following four trivia questions.

Q. What NHL team did Tony Esposito first play for?

A. All but thirteen of Tony’s NHL games were played with the Chicago Black Hawks. However, in 1968-69, he played those thirteen games with the Montreal Canadiens. At the time, both regular goalies were injured and Esposito was a call-up from the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League. Tony did not take part in the Stanley Cup playoffs that season when the Canadiens won the Cup.

1968-69 was before Ken Dryden came on the scene in Montreal. However, Tony still had Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon to compete with. Worsley soon after entered the HHOF and Vachon should be there but has repeatedly been denied. The following year, 1969-70, Esposito walked into the number one spot in Chicago, appearing in 63 of 76 regular season games for the Blackhawks with Gerry Desjardins and Denis DeJordy seeing sparse action in backup roles.

Q. What NHL team did Phil Esposito first play for?

A. Phil was sponsored by the Chicago Black Hawks right from junior hockey with the St. Catherines TeePees of the Ontario Hockey Association. Esposito played four seasons with Chicago, in the shadow of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita before being traded to the Boston Bruins where his career rocketed.

That trade is notorious for its one-sidedness. On May 15, 1967, going to Boston along with Phil were Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield. Heading to Chicago were Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin and Jack Norris. Esposito was part of another blockbuster trade in November, 1975 that sent him to the Rangers. Phil and Carol Vadnais went to the Big Apple while Brad Park, Jean Ratelle and Joe Zanussi went to Bean Town. He ended his career with New York.

Q. Which Esposito’s rookie hockey card is worth the most, according to Beckett Hockey?

A. The Tony Esposito rookie card was part of the 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee series and has a book value of $150. However, the Phil Esposito rookie card from the 1965-66 Topps series tops that with a book value of $400. Both Esposito rookie cards show the brothers as members of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Q. Which Esposito brother entered the Hockey Hall of Fame first?

A. Phil Esposito was the first of the two brothers to enter, being inducted in 1984. Tony followed in 1988. Phil played his final games in the National Hockey League during the 1980-81 season with the New York Rangers. This meant that he entered the Hockey Hall of Fame after the minimum three year waiting period. At his side in 1984 were goaltender Bernie Parent and career Montreal Canadien Jacques Lemaire.

Tony appeared in 18 games with the Blackhawks in 1983-84, his last games in the NHL. Four years later, he entered the HHOF, along with Guy Lafleur and Brad Park. Buddy O’Connor was also posthumously inducted.

1993 Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees

In 1993, four National Hockey League players entered the Hockey Hall of Fame. Three of the four starred on either the Montreal Canadiens or New York Islanders teams that dominated the Stanley Cup from 1976 to 1983. The other was a mainstay with the New York Rangers in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

Guy Lapointe

Guy Lapointe played 894 regular season games in the NHL between 1968-69 to 1983-84. He played the bulk of his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens while also having stints with St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins nearer the end of his career. The defenseman was a part of six Stanley Cup championship teams with Montreal during the 1970’s.

Despite putting up great numbers from the blue line, Guy was denied the Norris Trophy during his playing days, not able to steal the limelight from the likes of Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin and Montreal teammate Larry Robinson. Lapointe played seven of the eight games for Canada at the 1972 Summit Series with the Soviet Union.

Edgar Laprade

Edgar Laprade played his entire NHL career with the New York Rangers between 1945-46 and 1954-55, appearing in exactly 500 regular season games. With 34 points in 49 games during his rookie season, Laprade was selected as the recipient of the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top first year player. His 34 assists In 1947-48, Edgard placed third in the National hockey League with 34 assists.

Edgar was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy in 1949-50, amassing just one minor penalty over 60 games. In fact, Laprade sat just 42 minutes in the penalty box over his 500 games.

Steve Shutt

At the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, the Montreal Canadiens selected Steve Shutt fourth overall. Fresh off the roster of the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey League, Shutt jumped right into the Montreal lineup without missing a beat. Steve appeared in 930 regular season NHL games between 1972-73 and 1984-85. All his time was spent with the Habs with exception of 59 games with the Los Angeles Kings in his final season after he was traded.

Steve was a member of four consecutive Stanley Cup championship teams in Montreal between 1975-76 and 1978-79. The pinnacle of his NHL career was 1976-77 when he scored 60 goals and amassed 105 points. He led the league in goals that season and placed third for points. Three more times during his NHL career, Shutt placed in the top ten for goals in the NHL but he never again surpassed the 50 goal plateau.

Billy Smith

Billy Smith was the backbone of the New York Islanders Stanley Cup dynasty of the early 1980’s when the team won four straight between 1979-80 and 1982-83. Although drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fifth round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, Smith played just five games with the club before becoming a member of the Islanders.

Billy Smith was a goalie in the National Hockey League from 1971-72 to 1988-89. He earned the Vezina Trophy in 1981-82 and the Conn Smythe Trophy for his performance during the 1982-83 Stanley Cup playoff run.