Mike Liut
Liut with the St. Louis Blues in 1981
Born (1956-01-07) January 7, 1956
Weston, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Cincinnati Stingers
St. Louis Blues
Hartford Whalers
Washington Capitals
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 56th overall, 1976
St. Louis Blues
WHA Draft 50th overall, 1976
New England Whalers
Playing career 1977–1992

Michael Dennis Liut (born January 7, 1956) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

Liut played for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1977 to 1979 and for the St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1992. He won the 1981 Lester B. Pearson Award for being the most valuable player according to his fellow players, and posted the league's best goals against average in 1989–90.

College and WHA career

Liut played college hockey at Bowling Green State University. After being named twice to the CCHA First All-Star team, the St. Louis Blues selected him 56th overall in 1976. However, he opted instead to play for the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA for two seasons. When the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979, the Blues reclaimed Liut's rights.

NHL career

With four seasons of College hockey and two seasons of pro hockey in the World Hockey Association under his belt, Mike Liut arrived in St. Louis - and the National Hockey League - ready to step in and contribute. He immediately took over the starting duties for the Blues and made a major impact playing 64 games and posting a record of 32-23-9. His second season saw him improve and become arguably the top goaltender in the league posting a record of 33-14-13. He was voted a runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart Memorial Trophy for his efforts and was selected as a First Team All-Star and won the Lester B. Pearson Trophy as the league's MVP as determined by his peers. That fall, he was Canada's starting goaltender at the 1981 Canada Cup, which ended with an 8–1 loss to the Soviet Union in the final. Though he was not solely to blame, his reputation as a top-tier goaltender never fully recovered from the thrashing he took in that game and he did not represent Canada again in subsequent Canada Cup tournaments.

During his sixth season with the Blues, Liut was traded to the Hartford Whalers in exchange for net minder Greg Millen and forward Mark Johnson. The timing of the deal was a little odd because the Blues were in first place in the Norris Division at the time of the transaction[1] but the reason behind the swap appeared to be money. The Blues, one of the most budget conscious teams in the league, moved out Liut and his reported $900,000 salary (tops on the team)[2] and brought in two players whose combined salaries were less than they were paying Liut. This was not lost on Liut, who said, "I'm sure (Blues owner Harry Ornest) has been promoting a trade of some sort because of my salary."[3]

With the Whalers, Liut provided a steadying influence and in his second season with the club, he led the NHL in shutouts with four. In that same season, Liut backstopped the Whalers into the Adams Division finals, where they were defeated by the Montreal Canadiens in overtime of the seventh game in a memorable playoff series. The Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup that year. In 1986–87, Liut led the Whalers to their first and only Adams Division title and was named to the NHL's Second All-Star Team. He also posted the league's best goals-against average, with the Whalers, in 1989–90.

He was traded to the Washington Capitals late in the 1989-1990 campaign in exchange for forward Yvon Corriveau, leaving Hartford holding fourteen franchise goaltending records and sharing six other records.[4][5][2] With the Capitals, Liut joined another veteran, Don Beaupre, in handling the goaltending duties and his acquisition proved important in the post season when Beaupre was felled by an injury[6] pressing Liut into service versus the New York Rangers. Liut won three straight games, including the last two in overtime[7] to send the Capitals to their first ever Semi-Final berth to face the Boston Bruins where they were swept out of the playoffs. His heroics versus the Rangers would prove to be his last hurrah. He spent two more seasons with the Capitals but had difficulty maintaining his workhorse status because of a failing back, an ailment that led to his retirement in 1991–92.[8] Liut was the last active WHA goalie in the NHL upon his retirement.[9]

Following his playing career, Liut joined the University of Michigan as an assistant coach in 1995 until the end of the 1997–98 season. He received a law degree in 1995, and now heads the ice hockey division at global sports management leader Octagon.[10]

Liut is a second cousin of former NHL player Ron Francis (who was also his teammate on the Whalers). Liut was amongst a handful of goaltenders to sport a plain white mask throughout his NHL career, opting not to use customized artwork on his mask.

Career Achievements

  • Ted Lindsay Award (Formerly Lester B Pearson) voted MVP by the NHLPA in 1980-81 season.
  • 1st Team All-Star (1980–81)
  • 2nd Team All-Star (1986–87)
  • Goals Against Average leader (2.53) in 1989-90 season.
  • NHL All Star Game selection (1981)
  • Led NHL in Shutouts in (1986–87) and (1989–90) seasons.
  • Won "Silver" in 1981 World/Canada Cup as starting Goalie for Team Canada.
  • Led NHL in “games played" and "Minutes" in (1981–82) and (1982–83) seasons.
  • Most wins (239) by a goalie in the decade of the 1980s
  • Most shutouts (22) by a goalie in the decade of the 1980s
  • Most games played (544) by a goalie in the decade of the 1980s
  • Most minutes (31,597) by a goalie in the decade of the 1980s

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPWLTMINGASOGAASV% GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1971–72 Markham Waxers MetJHL ————————— ————————
1972–73 Dixie Beehives OPJHL 26———————— ————————
1973–74 Bowling Green State University CCHA 241012012728814.15.870 ————————
1974–75 Bowling Green State University CCHA 20126111747803.99.882 ————————
1975–76 Bowling Green State University CCHA 21135011715002.56.905 ————————
1976–77 Bowling Green State University CCHA 24184013466122.72— ————————
1977–78 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 27812012158604.25.870 ————————
1978–79 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 5423274318118433.47.882 3121791003.35—
1979–80 St. Louis Blues NHL 5432239366119423.18.896 3031931203.73.891
1980–81 St. Louis Blues NHL 61331413357019913.34.892 11566855004.38.857
1981–82 St. Louis Blues NHL 6428287369125024.06.876 10534942703.28.895
1982–83 St. Louis Blues NHL 68212713379423513.72.878 4132401503.75.899
1983–84 St. Louis Blues NHL 5825294342519733.45.884 11657142912.44.920
1984–85 St. Louis Blues NHL 3212126186911913.82.880 ————————
1984–85 Hartford Whalers NHL 124717313612.95.914 ————————
1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 5727234328219823.62.874 8524411411.90.938
1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 5931225347618743.23.885 6243322504.52.843
1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 6025285353218723.18.884 3111591104.16.866
1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 3513191200614214.25.861 ————————
1989–90 Hartford Whalers NHL 291512116837432.64.901 ————————
1989–90 Washington Capitals NHL 84404781712.13.922 9445072803.31.874
1990–91 Washington Capitals NHL 3513163183411403.73.885 20148404.98.867
1991–92 Washington Capitals NHL 21107211237013.74.875 ————————
WHA totals 81313944,39627033.69.878 3121791003.35—
NHL totals 6642932717438,2092,221253.49.883 6729323,81321523.38.890

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1981 Canada CC 6 4 1 1 360 19 1 3.17

"Liut's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved August 7, 2017.

Awards and honours

CCHA
Award Year
All-CCHA First Team 1974–75 [11]
All-CCHA Second Team 1975–76 [11]
All-CCHA First Team 1976–77 [11]
CCHA Player of the Year 1976–77
NHL
Award Year(s)
Lester B. Pearson Award 1980–81
NHL All-Star Game 1981
NHL First All-Star Team 1980–81
NHL Second All-Star Team 1986–87

References

  1. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE; Whalers Trade for Liut". The New York Times. February 23, 1985. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Capitals Get Goalie Liut from Whalers in Trade". LA Times. March 6, 1990.
  3. ↑ Gateway City Puckchasers: The History of the St. Louis Blues. Wernig Media. October 2014. ISBN 9780990723202.
  4. ↑ "Hartford Whalers goaltending history : Mike Liut". Goalie Archive Hartford Whalers.
  5. ↑ Sell, Dave (March 6, 1990). "CAPITALS ACQUIRE LIUT IN DEAL FOR CORRIVEAU". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  6. ↑ Yannis, Alex (April 25, 1990). "Capitals Confident with Liut in Goal". New York Times. p. A25.
  7. ↑ "1990 NHL Patrick Division Finals: NYR vs. WSH". HockeyReference.com.
  8. ↑ Sell, Dave (September 23, 1991). "LIUT HURTING AS CAPITALS TIE RANGERS". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  9. ↑ Weiner, Evan (November 9, 2007). "WHA days laid the foundation for Messier's pro career". NHL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Certified Player Agents". Nhlpa.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
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