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From Richards to Conachers to Sutters to Stastnys to Sedins to Staals, there has been no shortage of prolific siblings that have played in the NHL. Among these many sets of brothers, though, Phil and Tony Esposito may be the most unique – not only are both of them members of the Hockey Hall of Fame (a rare enough feat in itself), but they also played very different positions in center and goalie, respectively; in some ways, it is surprising that there are not more skater-goalie sibling combinations in hockey, since as kids growing up, it would be natural for one brother to be shooting the puck on another. Given this unique set of circumstances, while it is not the most straightforward to compare them against each other, nevertheless, the question should be asked:
Who was better – Phil Esposito or Tony Esposito?
The Beginning
While they were only separated in age by about one year, Phil and Tony took different paths to the NHL – Phil made his NHL debut in his early 20s straight from junior hockey and the minors, whereas Tony would play in college and in other professional leagues before making the jump.
The older brother by a year, Phil signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a teenager; however, before making it to the NHL, he first played junior hockey for a couple of years in Canada and then, spent two seasons with the St. Louis Braves (the Blackhawks’ minor league affiliate), where he averaged well over a point per game before being called up to Chicago late in the 1964-1965 season. In his first full season, Phil centered a line with the great Bobby Hull and had a respectable season with 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points with a +5 +/- rating. Following a couple more seasons of similar production (53 and 61 points, respectively), Phil was part of a blockbuster trade in 1967, as he, Ken Hodge, and Fred Stanfield were traded to the Boston Bruins for Pit Martin, Jack Norris, and Gilles Marotte; it was in Boston that Phil would quickly become a superstar.
As for younger brother Tony, he played college hockey at Michigan Tech, where he was a 3x First Team All-American and led the Huskies to the 1964-1965 NCAA Championship. After turning pro, he spent time with both the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Hockey League and the Houston Astros of the Central Hockey League before making his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 1967-1968; though he only played in 13 games that season, one memorable moment was his first career NHL start vs. Boston, which was led by brother Phil. He was claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks (Phil’s old team) after being left unprotected in the intra-league draft (i.e. waivers) and proceeded to have a spectacular rookie season in 1969-1970, going 38-17-8 (leading the NHL in wins) in 63 games with a 2.17 GAA (77 GA%-, which is a relative measure vs. league-wide scoring; 100 is average and lower is better), a league-best .932 SV%, and an NHL-record 15 shutouts. As a result, Tony would win the Calder Trophy as top rookie, make the first of six All-Star Game appearances, and win his first Vezina Trophy for best goalie, while also finishing second for the Hart Trophy.
Career Comparison
Throughout the 1970s, Phil and Tony would each establish themselves among the NHL’s superstars and each be recognized on numerous occasions as the best at their respective positions before winding down their careers in the early 1980s.
Upon being traded to Boston, Phil would start off with a strong 1967-1968 campaign (35 goals and 49 assists for 84 points with a +18 +/- rating) before breaking out in a huge way in 1968-1969 – by putting up 49 goals and a league-high 77 assists for a league-best 126 points with a league-leading +55 +/- rating), Phil became the first player in NHL history with a 100-point season; for his efforts, he made the first of seven straight All Star Games (10x overall) and captured both the Ross Trophy for top point scorer and the Hart Trophy for MVP. After dipping to “only” 99 points in 1969-1970 (a league-leading 43 goals and 56 assists with a +26 +/- rating), Phil would embark on a dominant stretch of five straight 125+ point seasons with no fewer than 55 goals or 65 assists each year; during this span, he led the league in goals scored each year, points scored 4x, and captured a bevy of trophies (4x Ross, 2x Pearson (now known as the Lindsay Award, for most outstanding player in the regular season), 1x Hart):
- 1970-1971: 76 goals and 76 assists for 152 points with a +69 +/- rating (the goals, points, and +/- rating were all career-bests) and won the Pearson and Ross Trophies, while finishing second in the Hart voting; the 76 goals were a single-season record at the time and remain fifth overall all-time behind Wayne Gretzky (92 and 87 goals in two separate seasons), Brett Hull (86), and Mario Lemieux (85), and tied with Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny
- 1971-1972: 66 goals and 67 assists for 133 points with a +54 +/- rating, won the Ross Trophy
- 1972-1973: 55 goals and 75 assists for 130 points with a +17 +/- rating, won the Ross Trophy
- 1973-1974: 68 goals and 77 assists for 145 points with a +51 +/- rating, won the trifecta of Ross, Pearson, and Hart Trophies
- 1974-1975: 61 goals and 66 assists for 127 points with a +17 +/- rating
Midway through the 1975-1976 season, an aging Phil was traded to the New York Rangers along with Carol Vadnais for All-Star and future Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park, Joe Zanussi, and Jean Ratelle; over the full season, Phil had 35 goals and 48 assists, albeit with an albatross -39 +/- rating. No longer the dominant force he was in Boston, Phil was nevertheless still a very productive player – in his first four full seasons with the Rangers, he would score at least 75 points each year and make the All-Star team in 1977, 1978, and 1980, while becoming the first player with 1,000+ points in a decade (1970s). Following only 20 points in 41 games in the 1980-1981 season, Phil retired at age 38.
Following his standout rookie season, Tony would continue to play at a high level and show that his inaugural campaign had been no fluke. Including that first season, he would go on to notch seven straight 30+ win seasons and lead the NHL in wins for two straight years (1969-1970 and 1970-1971). Moreover, during this span, Tony pitched 54 shutouts, made five All-Star Game appearances, and was top-10 in the Hart Trophy voting for five straight seasons. Perhaps most notably, he would also win two more Vezina Trophies in 1971-1972 and 1973-1974:
- 1971-1972: 31-10-6 record with a league-best and career-best 1.77 GAA, a league-leading .934 SV%, and a league-high 9 shutouts
- 1973-1974: 34-14-21 record, 2.05 GAA, .929 SV%, and 10 shutouts (one of two seasons in which he had double-digit shutouts)
The third and final Vezina-winning season would effectively mark the end of Tony’s dominant period. Though he remained a good goaltender, his numbers began to head south, including leading the NHL with 36 losses in the 1976-1977 season. Post his age-32 season in 1975-1976, he would only have one more 30+ win season in 1979-1980, during which he also made his final All-Star Game appearance and had his highest Hart Trophy finish (third) since his rookie season. By this time, Tony’s GAA hovered closer to the 3.00 level and his SV% gradually dipped below .900, and after the 1983-1984 season, he would retire at age 40.
Since they played different positions, it is relatively harder to compare Phil and Tony directly, so it is perhaps better to benchmark them against peers. With 717 goals and 873 assists for 1,590 career points (a scoring average of 1.24 points per game), Phil was second all-time only to Gordie Howe in goals and points, and third to Howe and Stan Mikita in assists at the time of his retirement; even today, he remains sixth on the all-time goals list and tenth on the all-time points list at the end of the 2018-2019 NHL season. Meanwhile, upon his retirement, Tony was third all-time in wins behind only Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante, and his single season record of 15 shutouts continues to stand today. In terms of awards and accolades, Phil made more All-Star Games (10 to 6), whereas Tony won more Vezinas (3x) for best goalie vs. Phil for Hart Trophies (2x) as league MVP (though Phil won the Ross Trophy 5x for top scorer). Given their illustrious careers, both siblings are in the Hockey Hall of Fame (Phil – 1984, Tony – 1988).
Regular Season Statistics
| Phil Esposito | Player | Player | Tony Esposito |
| 18 (1963-1981) | Seasons | Seasons | 16 (1968-1984) |
| 1,282 | Games Played | Games Played | 886 |
| 717 | Goals | W-L-T Record | 423-306-152 |
| 873 | Assists | Shutouts | 76 |
| 1,590 | Points | GAA | 2.93 |
| +252 | +/- | SV% | .906 |
| GA%- | 86 | ||
| 10x | All-Star Games | All-Star Games | 6x |
| 2x | Hart Trophies | Vezina Trophies | 3x |
| 5x | Ross Trophies | Jennings Trophies | – |
| 2x | Stanley Cups | Stanley Cups | – |
| – | Conn Smythes | Conn Smythes | – |
| 2x Pearson | Other Awards | Other Awards | ROY |
| 1984 | Hall of Fame Induction | Hall of Fame Induction | 1988 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
While both Phil and Tony were a constant presence in the playoffs, they somewhat surprisingly never played each other in the Stanley Cup Finals (though did meet in the playoffs on numerous occasions); in fact, whereas Phil lifted Lord Stanley a couple of times and was a strong playoff performer, Tony would come up just short of hockey’s ultimate prize and generally underperformed vs. his regular season numbers.
In his 18 NHL seasons, Phil made 15 postseason appearances, including a dozen straight with Chicago and Boston to start his career, which resulted in two Stanley Cup championships. In 1970, he led the playoffs with 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points with a +12 +/- rating as the Bruins swept the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Finals; this also included a sweep of the Blackhawks in the semifinals, in which Phil scored a hat trick vs. Tony in Game 1. Two years later, Phil would again lead the playoffs in both goals and points (9 goals and 15 assists for 24 points with a +16 +/- rating) to help Boston defeat his future team, the New York Rangers, in six games. Additionally, Phil would make the Finals on three other occasions in losing efforts (1965 with Chicago, 1974 with Boston, and 1979 with New York).
Similarly, Tony made 14 straight playoff appearances in 16 NHL seasons, but only came agonizingly close to lifting the Stanley Cup on a couple of occasions. In 1971, he posted strong numbers with an 11-7 record, .928 SV%, and 2.20 GAA with 2 shutouts, but the Blackhawks would fall to the Canadiens in seven games in the Finals. Likewise, in 1973, they would once again lose to Montreal in the Stanley Cup Finals, this time in six games. Those were Tony’s best chances for a title – overall, he had five postseasons, including four straight in the mid-1970s, where Chicago was swept in the first round and he did not record a single playoff victory.
Playoff Statistics
| Phil Esposito | Player | Player | Tony Esposito |
| 130 | Games Played | Games Played | 99 |
| 61 | Goals | W-L-T Record | 45-53 |
| 76 | Assists | Shutouts | 6 |
| 137 | Points | GAA | 3.09 |
| +25 | +/- | SV% | .903 |
| GA%- | 100 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; from their career peaks in the 1970s, both Esposito brothers slowed down into retirement in the early 1980s. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Phil Esposito | Player | Player | Tony Esposito |
| 1967-1977 | Decade of Dominance | Decade of Dominance | 1969-1976, 1977-1980 |
| 767 | Games Played | Games Played | 629 |
| 522 | Goals | W-L-T Record | 317-197-110 |
| 637 | Assists | Shutouts | 69 |
| 1,159 | Points | GAA | 2.54 |
| +241 | +/- | SV% | .915 |
| GA%- | 80 |
Source: Hockey-Reference.com
A look at their respective decades of dominance shows just how incredible each brother was at his peak – Phil’s scoring average jumps to 1.51 points per game, while Tony’s GAA and SV% both improve dramatically and his best 10 years account for 69 of his 76 career shutouts.
My Thoughts
It is almost mind-boggling to think that in the first half of the 1970s, Phil Esposito was arguably the best forward and Tony Esposito was arguably the best goalie in the league (in any given year between 1970 and 1975, one of them was the recipient of the Hart, Ross, and/or Vezina Trophies). In fact, besides fellow Hall of Fame brothers Maurice and Henri Richard, the Espositos may very well be the best siblings in NHL history. Between the two, though, was the center or the goalie a better overall player? To me, while Tony was a 3x Vezina Trophy winner, he had a later start to his NHL career, a shorter peak, and ultimately, a shorter career; upon his retirement, there were already numerous other goalies who had similar or better careers than him (Sawchuk, Plante, Dryden, Hall, etc. just to name a few). In contrast, Phil was probably the best forward in the NHL throughout most of his career and upon retirement, was not just the second-leading scorer, but also one of the top five or so best players of all-time.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Phil Esposito
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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