The Chicago Blackhawks will wear a memorial patch in honour of Hall of Fame goaltender Tony Esposito who died last month at the age of 78.
Esposito, the younger brother of fellow Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, manned the crease for the Black Hawks for fifteen seasons between 1969 and 1984. He won the Vezina Trophy three times, the Calder Trophy in 1970, set the NHL’s record for shutouts in a season, and played in six NHL All-Star Games. Esposito was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and his number 35 was retired by the team later that same month.
The Chicago Blackhawks Tony Esposito memorial patch shows Esposito’s number 35 in white block lettering on a black circle with white and black trim. It will be worn on the upper right corner of the Blackhawks home and road jerseys throughout the 2021-22 season.
LINK: Tony Esposito’s career in logos and uniforms
This patch follows the same style the Blackhawks used for their most recent past memorial patch when they wore a number 21 in memory of Stan Mikita during the 2018-19 season:
The Esposito patch will make its on-ice debut for the Blackhawks first pre-season game on September 29th against the Detroit Red Wings. Their first regular season game will come on October 13th in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche.