By Christina Clemis
Ottawa Senators fans feel they might have lost something very special in goalie Ron Tugnutt, something much more than a good goalie.
Since the debut of the Ottawa Senators’ Foundation in 1998, Tugnutt has been a visual and active element in the community. From the Ottawa Senators Charity Carnival in November to the “Senators at your Service” dinner in March, fans got a big part of his attention during autograph time.
“I was really disappointed when I heard he was traded,” says Joe Soetemans, 26, proudly wearing his No. 31 hockey sweater to declare himself a big fan of Tugnutt and the Senators. “He was really great to watch, ‘cause when he was on fire he was on fire!”
But watching ‘Tugger’ at community events was also great, says Soetemans, because the man behind the mask was so down-to-earth.
Soetemans and 16,000 other fans at the Corel Centre on March 21 got their chance to see the man the Sens exchanged for their hero.
Tom Barrasso, who has won 350 games in the NHL, was cheered from the moment his name was first announced, showing the fans’ acceptance of him as their new goaltender.
“I am going to miss Tugnutt, but Barrasso looks great,” said Soetemans.
What about the community works that Tugnutt was also popular for?
In January 1999, Tugnutt received the American Hockey League’s AHL-CCM graduate (or former player of the AHL) of the month for his month-long winning streak. The AHL gave the Ottawa-Carleton Canadian Cancer Society $500 on Tugnutt’s behalf.
The fans remember Tugger more for the attention that he bestowed upon them. Often Tugnutt was the last Senator to leave the autograph area at public appearances, choosing to take the time to chat with the fans.
Playing hockey at the Charity Carnival with the fans was another favorite aspect of Tugger.
Diane Wilson, president of the Ottawa Senators Foundation (OSF), says the organization will miss Tugger, but any causes he was interested in will go on as players step in.
This was the case last season when defenceman Lance Pitlick was signed to the Florida Panthers. He participated in an annual candlelight event organized by the OSF. After he left, Marian Hossa and other players offered to keep the event going.
Usually the players participate in causes that interest or affect them, says Wilson.
Wilson says Barrasso hasn’t approached her yet with an idea.
In the past, Barrasso has been affected twice by cancer, the first time in 1989 when his daughter Ashley was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (a disease that affects children under seven), and again last month when his father, Tom Barrasso Sr., died from a brain tumour.
Ashley, 12, survived the cancer and inspired her dad to start a cancer-cure fund in Pittsburgh on her behalf.
“I would have to imagine he would be interested in something related to that,” says Wilson, “but I still haven’t talked to him about it. We’ve got to let him unpack his bags and settle in first.”
Wilson says it’s the wrong time to ask about public appearances and player participation in charity events because the team is in a tight race for playoff positions and needs to focus on each game.
The OSF ended its players’ fund-raising season with the “Senators at your Service” dinner March 7 and forward Shaun Van Allan’s charity pool tournament on March 26.
“If we lost hockey games because the guys were always out at an opening, then of course, the fans wouldn’t be happy,” says Wilson.