|
Tonight The Great Tony Esposito And A. O. As Khabby Was A No Go On Sunday |
|
|
|
|
|
I am very fortunate to have been around long enough to watch three great Blackhawk goalies. I was a young boy when the remarkable Glenn Hall played and he was followed some years later by another Hall of Famer in Tony Esposito. That brilliant pair preceded the very talented Eddie Belfour. Chicago hockey fans have been able to watch some of the best net minders in the NHL over the years.
Tonight Tony Esposito returns to Chicago to be honored in a Pre Game Ceremony which should be similar to the Hull/Mikita event from March 7th. The Hawks were fortunate to pick up Esposito in the Intra League Draft after he played briefly for the Canadiens in 1968-69 Season. Montreal had two very good veteran goalies at the time in Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon. Fortunately for the Blackhawks they left Esposito unprotected and he was able to start his great career in Chicago during the 1969-70 Season.
Esposito led the Hawks to Playoff appearances from his first Season until he retired in 1984. Espo’s Rookie Season was sensational as he recorded 15 Shutouts which is still a NHL record today. In his first Blackhawk season he won the Calder and Vezina Trophy’s and was second in the balloting for the Hart Trophy. After accomplishing his great shutout record Esposito earned the nick name of Tony 0. On many nights fans would chant Tooo-ny...Tooo-ny at the Mad House on Madison as spectacular saves and Esposito became synonymous.
Tony represented Canada in the memorable 1972 Summit Series as he split duties with Ken Dryden and Eddie Johnston. Espo recorded the first win for Canada in that Series and also had the best G.A.A. of the three goalies who played against the powerful Russians.
Toward the end of his career Esposito played for the U.S. in the Canada Cup Series in 1981. According to Tony he was asked to represent the U.S. in the Cup Series by Bill Wirtz. Espo said he would honor Mr. Wirtz’s request but there was one problem. Esposito was still a Canadien citizen and the process for U.S. citizenship at that time would normally take at least a few months. Wirtz told Espo not to worry and just prepare for the Series, two weeks later Tony received his U.S. citizenship.
Esposito had a fantastic hockey career as he started out as a NCAA Champion with Michigan Tech and ended up in the NHL Hall of Fame. He was also honored by the Hockey News in 1998 and was ranked 79th out of the top 100 greatest NHL players of all time. His most infamous achievement was not winning a Stanley Cup. He will always have to live with the horrible defeat suffered at the Chicago Stadium in the 7th game of the Cup Finals against Montreal.
Esposito had been on top of his game that day as the Hawks led 2-1 half way through the 2nd Period. It was at that time that Jacques Lemaire took a shot from Center Ice which seemed to drop suddenly and eluded the shocked Esposito. What isn’t often remembered is that right before that unlikely Canadien goal Bobby Hull hit the cross bar which would have given the Hawks a probable insurmountable 3-1 lead. Instead the momentum turned and the Hawks lost the game 3-2 as the Canadiens skated away with the Cup.
That game haunts the memory of many Hawk faithful. I still remember hearing the sound of Hull’s shot clanging off the cross bar as I watched the game from the old Ritz Theater in Berwyn. That loss was painful but Esposito provided Hawk fans with many great thrills and memories over his long carrier.
I will always remember Tony O for his workman like approach to the game. I chatted recently with a former NHL player who played with Esposito in the 1981 Canada Cup Series. He told me that Espo was like many other goalies as that he had an assortment of peculiarities.
This former NHL player dressed near Espo for that Series and said that Tony would smear Tiger Balm all over his body before playing in a game. The smell was so strong that players close to him would get watery eyes. He also recounted how Espo would stand still, frozen in one position for much of the warm ups. He would never move a muscle as pucks whizzed by him into the net. Tony would also have a shoe box full of assorted smelling salts which he would crack open and whiff to clear his head before games. Many goalies have odd rituals and superstitions as Tony was no exception.
Tony would be one of the first dressed and out of the Chicago Stadium after a game. He would often beat me to one of the many late night spots on Rush Street and in those days that was not an easy feat. He didn’t seek out attention but would always have a minute to answer a question or two about the game he just played.
I know it is going to be a sell out tonight and also I feel that the fans will truly show their appreciation toward another great former Blackhawk. Congratulation Tony, you deserve all the accolades. No doubt you will live in the hearts of many Hawk fans forever.
I am looking forward to watching the spectacular Alex Ovechkin tonight. For my money A.O. is the best show in the NHL. He plays the game with toughness, speed and skill and is a joy to watch. His effort and desire is second to none and the NHL benefits greatly from having Ovechkin as one of its top young players.
Speaking of desire and effort I was disappointed in what I saw while watching the Hawks-Flames game on Sunday afternoon. My disenchantment wasn’t based on the entire Hawk Team. The Hawks did make some mistakes, Lalime was not good and the Flames did control much of the contest. The Hawks were not the better team on the ice and the Flames played a solid road game and deserved the victory. The Hawks displayed desire but were over matched by Calgary.
The problems for the Hawks started the day before as Corey Crawford either contracted food poisoning or a case of the flu. Savard had hoped to start Khabibulin against Calgary as Nik has had a strong past record against the Flames. Evidently for whatever reason Khabby told Savard on Saturday that he wouldn’t be ready to play on Sunday. Judging from Savards Post Game comments it was not a situation caused because Khabby was physically unable to perform. It also appeared that way as Nik participated in Warm-Ups before Sunday’s game. Why would he even dress if he wasn’t well enough to start the contest?
I received notice a few hours before the Flames game that Crawford was sent down to Rockford so I fully expected that Khabby was going to be in goal. Crawford was called up when Nik suffered his bout of back spasms and could not be on the Roster if Khabby was able to dress. Lalime would have backed up Crawford instead of starting the game but the plans had to be changed a few times.
To recap, Savards first choice to start in goal was Khabibulin then he turned to Crawford and wound up with his last resort for the Flames game in Lalime. If Khabibulin was physically unable to play I believe Mike Brodeur would have been brought up from Rockford to back up Lalime.
Brodeur was in goal Saturday for the IceHogs but he had been well rested. He had not played in a Hog game since March 2nd. I am sure the youngster would have welcomed the opportunity to dress with the big Club. Brodeur would have been able to arrive at the U.C. in time for the Sunday afternoon contest. It doesn’t appear that logistics were a problem, his absence appears due to the fact that Khabibulin was in fact physically able to play.
If many aren’t confused yet just give it a little more time. Khabibulin took part in Pre Game warm ups and evidently was well enough to play but he indicated the day before he wouldn’t be ready to start the game.….huh?
Khabibulin was not rushed back by the Blackhawks as he sat out since suffering back pain during a practice on February 22nd. It was mentioned days before the Flames contest that Khabby might able to start. From what has been reported and judging from Savards Post Game comments after the Flames loss it appears it was Khabibulin’s decision alone not to start. The reason appears to be based on him not being mentally prepared to start in goal rather than due to a lingering physical ailment. There could be an obscure reason for Khabibulins decision or there possibly could be another plausible assessment but as of now I can’t find any.
In the crucial 73rd game of the Season it appears the veteran goalie hung his Coach and team mates out to dry. I have defended Khabibulin in the past as I felt he got more than his fair share of criticism much of which was brought on because of his enormous contract. This time there is no plausible reason for me to accept him not starting in goal for the Flames game. Unless a player has a family emergency at home or another extraordinary issue, he has to play if he is physically able to perform and can dress.
When the Flames scored their 4th goal of the game at 13:37 of the 2nd period through Lalime, I saw Savard nod to Khabibulin to go in. He couldn’t go immediately onto the ice as someone had to run back to the Dressing Room seemingly to retrieve Nik’s mask. By the time the mask arrived to the bench play already started and the Hawks had then drawn a penalty. Most Coaches with the exception of Mike Keenan won’t change goalies when their opponent is on a Power Play.
I was surprised at that point that Savard would even consider inserting a cold Kahbibulin into the game anyway. The Hawks were already losing by 3 goals and he was just coming off of a back injury. That didn’t make sense but neither did Nik not starting the contest to begin with. In any event Khabibulin sat on the bench after the Hawk Penalty was killed because at that point the 2nd Period was almost completed.
When I asked around after the 2nd Period what the deal was concerning Khabby I was told exactly what Savard indicated in his Post Game comments. Khabibulin was his first choice to start but he was told by Nik on Saturday that the veteran wasn’t prepared to play. Savard then had to move toward Crawford and when Corey turned up sick the Coach was left with his 3rd choice in Lalime.
I don’t like to second guess Savard on how he uses players but Khabibulin should have
replaced Lalime after Calgary’s 3rd goal. The Flames took the game over while scoring two goals in the first 5:00 minutes of the 2nd Period. That would have been the time to switch goalies and look to spark the team.
All that said Savard appeared to be hamstrung by the position he was already put in. He wasn’t in full control of the situation as normally would have been the case. His awkward predicament appeared to be caused due to Khabibulin’s unwillingness to initially start the game. A Coach can only use players who actually want to perform.
In reality by Savard replacing Lalime with Khabibulin at the beginning of the 3rd Period it didn’t help the team at all. Savard probably made the change only to save Lalime from further abuse as it was obvious Patrick was not on his game. I think he also may have been sending a message to Kahbibulin by putting him into the game at all. The Flames took only 5 shots in the 3rd Period but the Hawks couldn’t score more than one goal. Kipper was very good and it just wasn’t going to be a happy ending for the Hawks. Actually the game was lost well before the 3rd Period began.
I know that the NHL has changed a lot from the time of Esposito’s playing career. Regardless I can’t picture Tony 0 telling a Coach he wasn’t mentally prepared to start an important game late in the Season. Really things haven’t changed that much as I can’t picture Ovechkin and most other current NHL members refusing to start a game if they were physically able to perform.
Savard probably learned a valuable lesson about Khabby over the weekend, one I am sure he will remember. Unfortunately for Khabibulin I think his team mates might not forget either.
Join the Discussion:
»