Sometimes you feel like a Tugnutt. Sometimes you don't. The Ottawa Senators have Tugnutt, the rest don't. Because... sometimes you feel like a Tugnutt, and sometimes you don't.

All of Ottawa has felt like a Tugnutt this season, as goaltender Ron Tugnutt has helped lead the surprising Senators to the top of the Eastern Conference with a remarkable record of 43-21-11. For his part, Tugnutt has posted a career-high 21 wins, an excellent .927 save percentage, and a league-best 1.78 goals-against average, just one-hundredth of a point off Tony Esposito's modern-day goals-against record of 1.77. All in all, not too shabby for a 31-year-old journeyman netminder that was out of the league entirely not four years ago.

Ron Tugnutt by Meredith Martini

"Well, it's been somewhat of a seesaw battle throughout my whole career," explains Tugnutt. "I think that you go through a lot of adversity, but I'm a believer, and that just makes you stronger. Although you go through tough times, it makes the good times that much better, and obviously, the way things are going this year, I'm having the time of my life."

Tugnutt was originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques (81st overall) in 1986. His first NHL start came with the Nords on December 29, 1987, in a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres. It was a rare bright spot in his five-year stint with Quebec.

For the uninformed, during the late 1980's and early 90s, the Quebec Nordiques were, shall we say, not very good? Shall we say terrible? We shall say terrible. In 1989-90, Quebec finished the season at 12-61-7. Tugnutt led all Nordique goaltenders in wins that season with five. No joke. That was even on the back of his hockey card. Of course, so was the fact that he also carried a 4.61 goals-against average. That's grief. But looking back on things, Tugnutt has fond memories of his days with the Nordiques.

"I think I really enjoyed my time in Quebec," says Tugnutt. "They gave me a chance to play. Unfortunately, we were going through some rebuilding, and I think our average age was much younger than the age in Ottawa now. The Senators have basically done their rebuilding when I got here. They're improving every year. I think I'm finally in the right place at the right time, and it took a long time to get here."

There was one shining moment of glory with the fleur-de-lis. It came on March 21, 1991 at Boston Gardens. With most of his Quebec teammates along for the ride, except for Joe Sakic who had three assists, Tugnutt stopped 70 of 73 Bruin shots to salvage a 3-3 tie. Ray Bourque alone had 19 shots on goal. The performance was so awe-inspiring that afterwards every Bruin player skated the length of the ice to shake Tugnutt's hand and an appreciative Garden crowd rewarded the effort with a standing ovation. This game also was the genesis of Dan Patrick's immortal call, "Save Tugnutt!"

The next few years would prove trying for the Tugger. He bounced from team to team in a string of deals that had him on the road more than my man Jack Kerouac. On March 10, 1992, Tugnutt was traded by the Nordiques to Edmonton where he spent one rather uneventful season before being selected by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 1994 Expansion Draft. He only appeared in 28 games with the Water Fowl before being moved to Montreal. His tour of the league didn't stop there. He made a mere 15 appearances with the Habs over parts of two seasons before signing with Washington prior to the 1995-96 campaign. Tugnutt would never suit up for the Capitals. He'd spend the entire 1995-96 season with their AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. While most NHL veterans would balk at a full year in the minors, Tugnutt accepted the situation and turned it into a positive, even catching the eye of Ottawa GM Pierre Gauthier. When the call came, Tugnutt was ready.

"I was looking to going to Europe and stuff like that, and I was given an opportunity to sign with Washington," recalls Tugnutt. "I think I got some great advice from David Poile who was the GM at the time in Washington, and that was what I needed to go down and play some games. I had been the backup goalie for the previous three years, I needed to get back in game shape, and stop pucks in game conditions, and actually learn to win again, which was a very important thing to do. I decided I'd give it one year in Portland to do that, and if things weren't going my way I was ready to move on. But Pierre Gauthier gave me a chance, and he felt I could help the team out, and things couldn't have turned out any better."

Tugnutt's numbers have improved in each of his three seasons with the Sens. His goals-against has gone from 2.80 in 1996-97, to 2.25 in 1997-98, to his current mark of 1.78. His save percentage has shown similar progress, moving from .895, to .905, to .927. While the main reason for the dramatic improvement is the steady defensive team in front of him, Tugnutt has refined his game. No longer a small, flopping goaltender that relies on quickness, Tugnutt's much more aggressive in net, stands his ground, and works his angles with the best in the business. It's all proof of his maturation as a goaltender.

"I think I've bulked up now. I'm up to 160, and I think I'm covering a lot more net," says Tugnutt. "But realistically, I think mentally I've gotten stronger. I think I'm squaring up to the puck more, which has been very important, and taking the shooter. I've got to give a lot of credit to my team, but if I was to say a big part of my game that's improved most it would be mentally."

Tugnutt's been a vital part of the Ottawa resurgence that has seen the Senators go from doormats to dominant. The club made the playoffs for the first time two years ago, advanced a round last year, and appear to be on the verge of some swell things this time around, with many expecting the established pattern to continue with a showing in the Eastern Conference Finals or, dare say, the Stanley Cup. Evolution is a beautiful thing.

"You look back at other teams, their past, how they've come through, and the Colorado Avalanche is a great example, they made a couple of small steps, and then they made a huge step," says Tugnutt. "And you would like to follow in those footsteps, but I think that, obviously, we have plans to get as far as we can, and we would love to be in the Stanley Cup Finals, but we're not going to look that far ahead yet."

Despite his impressive season thus far, Tugnutt has been splitting the goaltending chores with Damian Rhodes. Coach Jacques Martin has been employing his netminders in a pretty regular rotation, the likes of which hasn't been seen since the days of VanRichterBrouck on Broadway. But you can't really combine Tugnutt and Rhodes and get a cool, scary sounding name. I mean, the best you can come up with is TugRhodesNutt. And that's not good for anybody.

"I think Damian and I both want to play pretty much every night, but I think that we understand that the situation here is kind of unique, where it seems to be working," says Tugnutt. "And I think that you don't want to rock the boat. If things are going well for both of us, that's okay. We have two goalies that are fresh every game, you don't have somebody that's tiring out and being injured, relying on a guy that hasn't played much at a key time. I think it's worked well for both of us. Jacques has a grasp on both of our mentalities. Most importantly, neither one of us has a big ego, and when you're not playing you're a big supporter of the team, and you obviously want to win."

The competition for playing time hasn't affected the relationship between the two goaltenders. If there really is one.

"It's different," offers Tugnutt. "We don't talk a real lot about other things, other than hockey and golf. I think those are the only two things we really have in common. We talk a bit about goalie equipment and certain ways to make saves, and both of us have an avid love for golf. Other than that, we don't really discuss a lot of things. We get along, but we don't exactly go for dinners and things like that. It's kind of a strange relationship."

Whether the two-goaltender rotation continues into the postseason is of little concern. At least that's the company line. But rest assured Tugnutt wants to be the man.

"Damian and I don't make the decision one way or another," says Tugnutt. "I think Jacques goes with whatever he feels. I'm not sure if we're going to go with a two-goalie setup in the playoffs, or if he's going to go to one guy. Time will tell."

1998-99 has been a charmed season for the man known as Tugnutt. He made his first ever All-Star Game appearance, he's near the top in most goaltending categories, and his team has proven itself to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. But there's still miles to go before he's done.

"I don't want to dream and look too far ahead," cautions Tugnutt, "but obviously there are things that we feel we have a chance at, and us as with a few other teams, especially with the moves made at the deadline by some other teams, but we're very confident with our team, and we've worked hard to get here. There's only one way we'd really like to finish it, but we know it's a long way to go yet."

One final thing. While preparing for this article, I stumbled across the official Ottawa Senators web site and found that they had a listing of some of Ron Tugnutt's favorite things. For example, did you know that Tugnutt's official nickname is in fact Tugger and that his favorite cologne is Paco Rabban? I rib you not. See, with me it's the exact opposite. My nickname is Paco Rabban and my favorite cologne is Tugger. But seriously, I don't wear cologne. Although, I do drink it. Don't kid yourself, mix some Old Spice and Vermouth and you've got an instant party, my friend.

So now as a service to you, our valued readers, I'd like to reproduce that list of Tugnutt's favorites along with my own such prized selections. Contrast and compare. This way you'll get to learn a little more about Tugnutt and myself at the same time. And hopefully it will bring us all closer together. Thank you.

Favorite      Ron Tugnutt         Michael Dell
Music:        Country             Nirvana   
Actor:        Val Kilmer          ALF
Food:         Steak and Potatoes  Rice and Potatoes
Sport:        Golf                Drinking  
Youth Idol:   Bernie Parent       Gary Coleman
Nickname:     Tugger              Alcoholic
Leisure:      Movies              Sobering Up
TV Show:      PGA Golf            Columbo
Color:        Black               Jager Brown
Travel:       Hawaii              Downstairs
Clothes:      Jeans and T-shirt   Not Pants
Astrology:    Libra               Lazy Bastard
Cologne:      Paco Rabban         Jack Daniels

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