Bob Essensa

Robert "Bob" Essensa (born January 14, 1965, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a retired professional goaltender who spent 12 seasons in the National Hockey League. Currently, he serves as the goaltending coach for the Boston Bruins.

Amateur career
Essensa was selected in the fourth round of the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, 69th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets after dominating Junior B hockey in the Toronto area. He had played for the Henry Carr Crusaders of the Metro Junior B Hockey League in 1981-82 and 1982-83, The Crusaders won the league championship im both years and the Sutherland Cup in 1982-83.

Following the 1983 Draft, Essensa played for Michigan State University and posted an overall record of 62–13–2 in his four years at Michigan State. He named the CCHA First Team All-Star his sophomore year and won the CCHA and NCAA Championships with Michigan State in his Junior year. He graduated as the school's all-time leader in GAA and shutouts, although both records have since been broken.

Professional career
After spending his first professional season entirely in the AHL, Essensa made his NHL debut during the 1988–89 season, and posted a 6–8–3 record in 20 games. His workload increased to 36 games in 1989–90, and he took over as Winnipeg's starting goaltender the following season. For four seasons, he was a workhorse for the Jets, averaging nearly 60 games per year. In 1991–92, he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender after leading the league in shutouts with 5 while posting a sparkling 2.88 GAA.

Essensa and the Jets suffered through a dismal 1993–94 campaign, struggling to the second-worst record in the league next to the expansion Ottawa Senators. However, fortune seemed to deal him a break as he was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings at the trade deadline. A legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup, Detroit had been let down in previous seasons by poor goaltending and Essensa, just two years removed from his Vezina nomination and a college star in the area at Michigan State, was considered an ideal solution. However, it proved to be a disaster as he posted a disappointing 4–7–1 record down the stretch and struggled in the playoffs, ultimately being usurped by rookie Chris Osgood.

Things went from bad to worse for Essensa in 1994–95, as Detroit acquired star veteran Mike Vernon to partner Osgood. In the span of a few months, he went from a legitimate NHL starter to Detroit's 4th-string goalie, as the team preferred to call up prospect Kevin Hodson when insurance was needed. Exiled to the minors, he spent the next two seasons in the International Hockey League, and his NHL career seemed all but over.

Essensa finally escaped the Red Wings organization when he was dealt to the Edmonton Oilers for the 1996–97 season. He spent the next two seasons backing up Curtis Joseph for the Oilers, and although his workload was limited behind one of the top goalies in the league, he re-established himself as a solid NHL goaltender and an above-average backup. When Joseph left Edmonton as a free agent in 1998, Essensa's responsibilities increased, as he split the goaltending duties evenly in 1998–99 with the newly-acquired Mikhail Shtalenkov. While neither goalie performed poorly, it represented a significant drop-off from Joseph and the team eventually acquired Tommy Salo late in the season to take over as the starter.

For 1999–00, Essensa signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. The move represented a homecoming of sorts, as the Winnipeg Jets had moved to Phoenix in 1996, and gave him an opportunity to extend his franchise records for games played and wins by a goalie. Ironically, he was again partnered with Shtalenkov in Phoenix, and the tandem perhaps unsurprisingly failed to deliver much better results. Shtalenkov was dealt mid-season in a deal for Sean Burke, and Essensa finished the season as Burke's backup, posting a solid 13–10–3 record in 30 games.

Essensa was on the move again for the 2000–01 campaign, this time signing with the Vancouver Canucks to back up Félix Potvin. 'Backup Bob' quickly became a fan favourite in Vancouver, as he outplayed the highly-paid Potvin by a wide margin. He was cheered wildly in most appearances by Canuck fans who were frustrated that the struggling Potvin continued to get the majority of the team's starts while Essensa, playing his best hockey in nearly a decade, was clearly giving the team a better chance to win. Ultimately, Potvin was shipped out of Vancouver and replaced by Dan Cloutier, and Essensa and Cloutier split the goaltending duties as the Canucks were knocked out of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche. Essensa finished the year with an 18–12–3 mark in 39 appearances, his highest win total since 1994.

After Vancouver somewhat controversially failed to give him a serious contract offer, Essensa signed with the Buffalo Sabres for the 2001–02 season. However, he was unable to recapture his heroics of the previous year, posting an 0–5 record in 9 appearances for the Sabres before retiring at the conclusion of the season.

Essensa finished his career with a 173–176–47 record in 446 career NHL appearances, along with 17 shutouts and a 3.15 GAA. He has served as the goaltending coach for the Boston Bruins since 2003.