5 random players you forgot were on the Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens: Ron Tugnutt

Better known for four seasons apiece as a Nordique and a Senator, Tugnutt backed up Roy for portions of 1993-94 and 1994-95. In that time, he mustered 15 regular season appearances and one playoff outing for Montreal.

By that point, he had already cemented his legend with Quebec City’s franchise. In 1991, Tugnutt repelled 70 shots by the Bruins to ensure a 3-3 tie at the Boston Garden. It was the most voluminous workload for any goalie in a regular season contest since Chicago’s Sam LoPresti stopped 80 in the same arena half a century prior.

Tugnutt finished that 1990-91 season, his fourth overall and third as a Nordiques regular, 10th among Vezina vote getters. He contended for the prize again in 1998-99, placing fifth on the ballot and also fetching Hart and All-Star votes upon posting a career-best 22-10-5 record and retaining a league-leading 1.79 goals-against average with the Senators.

Tugnutt’s fourth season in Ottawa ended early with a deadline deal to Pittsburgh. While his time as a Penguin was shorter than his stint as a Canadien, he was the starter in the former. Moreover, Pittsburgh was where he matched his personal single-game watermark of 70 saves in a quintuple-overtime second-round game against Philadelphia.

The subsequent expansion draft barred Tugnutt from building on a potential Penguins foundation. That said, he served as Columbus’ starter for the team’s first two seasons, and earned All-Star votes for his valiance in the expectedly trying inaugural campaign.

A career-closing year-plus in Dallas and early-’90s stops in Edmonton and Anaheim also served to obscure Tugnutt’s time as the Canadiens’ second stringer.