Prior to the 1996-97 season, losing was a common thing for the Ottawa Senators. From 1992-96, the Senators had won just 51 games in four combined seasons.
Of the four seasons, the 1992-93 season was the worst with winning 10 games. In the 1995-96 season, the Senators won 18 games, which was then a franchise record. Prior to the 1996-97 season, goaltender Ron Tugnutt signed with the Senators.
Tugnutt didn't play in the 1995-96 NHL season. Ottawa was Tugnutt's fifth team in his NHL career at the time. However, Tugnutt's in the cage would help turn the Senators franchise for the better starting in 1996-97.
Tugnutt helped turn Senators into playoff team
In the middle of the 1999-00 season, Tugnutt was traded by the Senators to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, if it wasn't for Tugnutt, the Senators may not have come close to making the playoffs three consecutive seasons with Tugnutt on the roster.
During his four seasons, Tugnutt posted a 72-51-25 record with a 2.32 goals against average in 166 games played. Tugnutt also recorded 13 shuouts in his tenure. Tugnutt's 72 wins and 13 shutouts are the third most in Senators history. Tugnutt's 2.32 GAA is tied with Patrick Lalime for the best in Senators history.
In the 1996-97 season, Tugnutt finished with a 17-15-1 record with a 2.80 GAA in 37 games played. Tugnutt set personal bests for wins, save percentage and GAA during the season. In 1997, the Senators made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Senators were eliminated in seven games by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 1997 playoffs, but Tugnutt recorded a 1.98 GAA during the seven-game series.
In the following 1997-98 season, Tugnutt won two less games than he did the season before, but finished with a .905 save percentage and 2.25 GAA. Both stats Tugnutt improved in from the season before, and he played in five more games than the season before. However, the following 1998-99 season was even better for Tugnutt.
The Senators won their first division title in 1999 with Tugnutt being a huge reason why. Tugnutt posted a 22-10-8 record with a .925 save percentage and 1.79 GAA in 43 games played. Tugnutt's 1.79 GAA was the NHL's best.
Tugnutt made his first and only All-Star Game appearance in 1999. However, the season ended rough when Tugnutt and the Senators were swept in the first round by the Sabres, who would eventually win the Eastern Conference.
Tugnutt was then traded to Pittsburgh the next season. After 2000, Tugnutt played two seasons each with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Dallas Stars. In the end, Tugnutt was a big part of helping turn the Senators into a playoff team in the 1990s after the franchise saw four miserable seasons to begin their existence.