Ron Tugnutt

Ron Tugnutt
Born	October 22, 1967 Scarborough, ON
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
NHL team Former teams	Dallas Stars Quebec Nordiques Edmonton Oilers Anaheim Ducks Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Pittsburgh Penguins Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL draft	81st overall, 1986 Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1987 (NHL)–2004

Ron Tugnutt (born October 22, 1967 in Scarborough, Ontario) is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the OHL from 1984-1987 and was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques of the NHL in the 4th round, 81st overall.

Although he has not officially retired, Tugnutt is currently a broadcasting member for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada.

Playing career

Early Years

Tugnutt was born in Scarborough, Ontario and played three seasons with the OHL Peterborough Petes before being drafted to the NHL. During that time, he won the F.W. "Dinty" Moore Trophy for rookie with the best G.A.A, followed by winning the Dave Pinkney Trophy for top team goaltending, and finally being named to the OHL All Star team in 1987.

NHL Beginnings

He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the 4th round, 87th overall. He was primarily used as a backup for the first three seasons bouncing up and down from the AHL. During 1990-1991 NHL season Tugnutt played what would be a career high 56 games for Quebec.

On March 21, 1991, Tugnutt stopped 70 of 73 shots to earn his hapless Nordiques a 3-3 tie against the powerhouse Boston Bruins, the second highest number of saves made in a regular season NHL game. His performance in that game evoked such respect that after it was over, several Bruins skated over to congratulate Tugnutt.

After an inconsistant year, Tugnutt returned to his backup duties with the struggling Quebec squad in 1992. He was then traded to the Edmonton Oilers. For the next three years Tugnutt bounced around from Edmonton to Anaheim to Montreal getting little ice time, and questioning his career.

Career Breakthrough

In 1995, Tugnutt signed a one year deal with Washington and spent the entire NHL season with the AHL affiliate Portland Pirates. He really got his game together taking Portland to the Calder Cup Finals.

It was this showing that got Tugnutt a deal with the Ottawa Senators in favor of going to play in Europe. With the help of goaltending coach Phil Myre Tugnutt worked on the fundamentals, gained some confidence and improved his game each season. He came into Ottawa fighting for the backup position with Mike Bales behind starter Damian Rhodes to splitting duties with Rhodes the next two seasons.

In 1998-99, Tugnutt had the best season of his career. He posted a G.A.A of 1.79, placed second in the league in SVP% at .925, had a career high in wins, and tied a career high in shutouts. This great play, and an injury to Curtis Joseph gave Tugnutt the opportunity to play in the 1999 NHL All-Star Game.

The next season, Rhodes was shipped to the expansion Atlanta Thrashers giving Tugnutt sole possession of the starting job. Tugnutt however, was unable to match his previous season and Ottawa decided to trade him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in favor of an experienced playoff performer, Tom Barrasso.

This was controversially, one of the worst trades Ottawa ever made. Barrasso flopped during the playoff and the Senators suffered yet another first round post season defeat. Tugnutt on the otherhand, took over the starting job from Jean Sebastien Aubin and lead Pittsburgh to the Conference Semi Finals.

As a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tugnutt was in goal for the epic May 4, 2000, playoff game against the Philadelphia Flyers. He made 70 saves on 72 shots. Unfortunately for the Penguins, the 72nd shot was a goal scored by Keith Primeau of the Flyers at 12:01 of the fifth overtime (hockey). The final score was Philadelphia 2, Pittsburgh 1, after 152:01 minutes, the longest NHL game since the 1930s.

Following his performance with Pittsburgh, Tugnutt was one of the hottest free agents available on the market. Both Ottawa and Pittsburgh attempted at signing Tugnutt but were unable to match the 4 year, 10 million dollar contract offered by the expansion Columbus Blue Jackets.

During the club's first season, Tugnutt was considered their backbone. He was playing the greatest hockey of his career and was the reason the offensively challenged club had such a successful season. Tugnutt's 22 wins broke yet another NHL record for most wins on an expansion team. His .924 SVP% was among the top in the league.

The team's second season was not as impressive as the first. Tugnutt battled injuries and ended up sharing time with young netminder Marc Denis. GM Doug MacLean decided that it was time to give Denis the opportunity to be the sole starter on the club, and therefore traded Tugnutt to the Dallas Stars.

Recent career

Tugnutt came onto the Dallas Stars in 2002-03 as the backup to goaltender Marty Turco. He never really challenged that position at any point. In January of that year, Turco suffered an ankle injury in which Tugnutt played almost 20 straight games. He posted back to back shutouts during that stretch. He finished the season playing 31 games, posting a 15-10-5 record along with 4 shutouts.

2003-04 was considered Tugnutt's toughest year in the NHL. From the start of the season to January he only received 3 starts. Rust was becoming a factor. He was sent down to the minors for the first time in almost 10 years, to get some playing time with the Utah Grizzlies. Just 5 games in, Tugnutt pulled his groin and was out until after the All Star break. Soon after he was recalled to the Dallas Stars. After two solid starts, one in which was a shutout, Tugnutt finally got the break he was waiting for. Turco got a 4 game suspension.

Tugnutt played solid in crucial games between Vancouver and San Jose. Both in which he lost in overtime, 3-2, and 2-1 respectively. During the San Jose game, Tugnutt was named Pierre McGuire's Monster Performer. He ended up losing all four contests, although the Dallas Stars were missing several key defencemen, and forwards.

That was Tugnutt's last game in the NHL to date. He is currently listed as an Unrestricted Free Agent.

Today

After the lockout, Tugnutt joined CBC as a color commentator for Hockey Night in Canada. He is also inquiring into becoming a goaltending coach.

Style of Play

Tugnutt is a cross between a stand-up goaltender and a butterfly goaltender. In his earlier years he was known to flop around the crease too much, and not challenge shooters enough. However since his days in Ottawa, under goaltending coach Phil Myre Tugnutt has become a much more position goaltender, standing tall in his crease and always ready to make the save. What kept him around the league so long, was his ability to adjust his style to the changing styles of the NHL.

Off the Ice

Tugnutt, who is known around the league as one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, has only had one problem with a fellow netminder. That was in Montreal with Patrick Roy. Roy apparently slighted Tugnutt, letting him know who was boss and who was "that guy who only plays when I don't feel like it." Tugnutt has since put his differences aside with Roy, but hasn't forgotten.

Tugnutt is married to wife Lisa, and has two children, Matthew and Jacob. Currently, Tugnutt resides in Ottawa, Ontario. He spends much of his free time coaching his kids minor hockey team. Tugnutt is also a movie buff, he enjoys boating and travelling.

In the summer of 1998, Tugnutt was involved in a severe boating accident. It was suspected that he might miss out on training camp. Ironically enough, Tugnutt healed and had the best season of his career, breaking the modern day NHL record for lowest G.A.A and coming 2nd in the league in save percentage.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SVP%
1984-85	Peterborough Petes	OHL		18	7	4	2	938	59	0	3.77	-
1985-86	Peterborough Petes	OHL		26	18	7	0	1543	74	1	2.88	-
1986-87	Peterborough Petes	OHL		31	21	7	2	1891	88	2	2.79	-
1987-88	Fredericton Express	AHL		34	20	9	4	1964	118	1	3.60	-
1987-88	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		6	2	3	0	284	16	0	3.38	.870
1988-89	Halifax Citadels	AHL		24	14	7	2	1368	79	1	3.46	-
1988-89	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		26	10	10	3	1367	82	0	3.60	.892
1989-90	Halifax Citadels	AHL		6	1	5	0	366	23	0	3.77	-
1989-90	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		35	5	24	3	1978	152	0	4.61	.859
1990-91	Halifax Citadels	AHL		2	0	1	0	100	8	0	4.80	-
1990-91	Quebec Nordiques	NHL		56	12	29	10	3144	212	0	4.04	.886
1991-92	Halifax Citadels	AHL		8	3	3	1	447	30	0	4.03	-
1991-92	Quebec/Edmonton	NHL		33	7	18	3	1707	116	1	4.08	.864
1992-93	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		26	9	12	2	1338	93	0	4.17	.879
1993-94	Anaheim/Montreal	NHL		36	12	18	2	1898	100	1	3.16	.900
1994-95	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		7	1	3	1	346	18	0	3.12	.895
1995-96	Portland Pirates	AHL		58	21	23	6	3068	171	2	3.34	.898
1996-97	Ottawa Senators	NHL		37	17	15	1	1991	93	3	2.80	.895
1997-98	Ottawa Senators	NHL		42	15	14	8	2236	84	3	2.25	.905
1998-99	Ottawa Senators	NHL		43	22	10	8	2508	75	3	1.79	.925
1999-00	Ottawa/Pittsburgh	NHL		51	22	14	8	2809	118	4	2.52	.903
2000-01	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		53	22	25	5	3129	127	4	2.44	.917
2001-02	Columbus Blue Jackets	NHL		44	12	27	3	2502	119	2	2.85	.900
2002-03	Dallas Stars	NHL		31	15	10	5	1701	70	4	2.47	.896
2003-04	Dallas Stars	NHL		11	3	7	0	548	22	1	2.41	.900
OHL Totals				75	46	18	4	4372	221	3	3.03	-
AHL Totals				137	60	51	14	7594	443	4	3.50	-
NHL Totals (16 NHL Seasons)				537	186	239	62	29486	1497	26	3.05	.895

Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SVP%
1985-86	Peterborough Petes	OHL		3	2	0	133	6	0	2.70	-
1986-87	Peterborough Petes	OHL		6	3	3	374	21	1	3.36	-
1987-88	Fredericton Express	AHL		4	1	2	204	11	0	3.23	-
1991-92	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		2	0	0	60	3	0	3.00	.919
1993-94	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		1	0	1	59	5	0	5.08	.833
1995-96	Portland Pirates	AHL		13	7	6	782	36	1	2.76	-
1996-97	Ottawa Senators	NHL		7	3	4	425	14	1	1.97	.923
1997-98	Ottawa Senators	NHL		2	0	1	74	6	0	4.86	.806
1998-99	Ottawa Senators	NHL		2	0	2	118	6	0	3.05	.872
1999-00	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		11	6	5	746	22	2	1.76	.945
OHL Totals				9	5	3	507	27	1	3.19	-
AHL Totals				17	8	8	986	47	1	2.86	-
NHL Totals				25	9	13	1482	56	3	2.26	.923

Honours & Records

• Modern day record holder for most shots faced in a regular season game.
• 10th all time for lowest goals-against average during the regular season.
• Named to the NHL first All-star Team in 1998-99.
• Tied with Dominik Hasek for Ottawa Senators highest regular season save percentage.
• Leader in save percentage for the 1999-2000 Playoffs
• Holds Pittsburgh Penguins record for highest save percentage in the playoffs
• Tied with Tom Barrasso and Johan Hedberg for most shutouts in one playoff season.
• Record holder for most wins in the regular season on an expansion team.
• Holds Columbus Blue Jackets record for lowest goals-against average in the regular season.

International Play

After a disappointing 4 game sweep in the NHL playoffs, Tugnutt was more then excited to play for Team Canada in the World Hockey Championship. The semi-final game was against the Czech Republic in which Canada lost after the game went undecided in overtime, ending in a shootout. This was Tugnutt's second appearance on Team Canada. He played for them in 1993 as well.

International statistics

Year	Team	Event		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SVP%
1993	CAN	WCh		4	-	-	-	125	6	-	2.87	-
1998	CAN	WCh		7	4	3	0	328	11	0	2.01	.915
Combined Totals				11	4	3	0	453	17	0	2.25	-

Trade History

• He was traded (with left-winger Brad Zavisha) to the Edmonton Oilers, for LW Martin Rucinsky, on March 10th 1992.
• He was selected by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as part of the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft on June 24th, 1993.
• On February 20th, 1994, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Stephen Lebeau.
• Signed as a free agent by the Washington Capitals in the summer of 1995.
• Signed as a free agent by the Ottawa Senators in the summer of 1996.
• He was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Janne Laukkanen, for goaltender Tom Barrasso, on March 14th, 2000.
• Signed as a free agent by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2000.
• Traded, along with second-round draft pick in 2002 entry draft, to the Dallas Stars, for a first-round draft pick in the 2002 entry draft, in June 2002.

External link

• The Unofficial Website of Ron Tugnutt