Mike Liut

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Mike Liut
Mike Liut 1981.JPG
Liut with the St. Louis Blues in 1981
Born (1956-01-07) January 7, 1956 (age 68)
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 teamFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
NHL draft 56th overall, 1976
St. Louis Blues
WHA draft 50th overall, 1976
New England Whalers
Playing career 19771992

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

Contents

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

St. Louis Blues, 1979-1985

With four seasons of NCAA D1 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 runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart Memorial Trophy for his efforts, and was selected as a First Team All-Star while won the Lester B. Pearson Trophy as league 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 the Finals game, and he would not represent Canada again in subsequent Canada Cup tournaments.

Hartford Whalers, 1985-1990

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 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 financial. The Blues, one of the most budget conscious teams in the league, moved out Liut and his reported $900,000 salary (top 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 in 1985-86, 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 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. Liut also posted the league's best goals-against average, a 2.53, while splitting time between the Whalers and Capitals, in 1989–90. He would spend two more seasons with the Capitals but had difficulty maintaining his workhorse status because of an injured 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

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGPWLTMINGA SO GAA SV% 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 UniversityCCHA20126111747803.99.882
1975–76 Bowling Green State UniversityCCHA21135011715002.56.905
1976–77 Bowling Green State UniversityCCHA24184013466122.72
1977–78 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 27812012158604.25.870
1978–79 Cincinnati StingersWHA5423274318118433.47.8823121791003.35
1979–80 St. Louis Blues NHL 5432239366119423.18.8963031931203.73.891
1980–81 St. Louis BluesNHL61331413357019913.34.89211566855004.38.857
1981–82 St. Louis BluesNHL6428287369125024.06.87610534942703.28.895
1982–83 St. Louis BluesNHL68212713379423513.72.8784132401503.75.899
1983–84 St. Louis BluesNHL5825294342519733.45.88411657142912.44.920
1984–85 St. Louis BluesNHL3212126186911913.82.880
1984–85 Hartford Whalers NHL124717313612.95.914
1985–86 Hartford WhalersNHL5727234328219823.62.8748524411411.90.938
1986–87 Hartford WhalersNHL5931225347618743.23.8856243322504.52.843
1987–88 Hartford WhalersNHL6025285353218723.18.8843111591104.16.866
1988–89 Hartford WhalersNHL3513191200614214.25.861
1989–90 Hartford WhalersNHL291512116837432.64.901
1989–90 Washington Capitals NHL84404781712.13.9229445072803.31.874
1990–91 Washington CapitalsNHL3513163183411403.73.88520148404.98.867
1991–92 Washington CapitalsNHL21107211237013.74.875
WHA totals81313944,39627033.69.8783121791003.35
NHL totals6642932717438,2092,221253.49.8836729323,81321523.38.890

International

YearTeamEventGPWLTMINGASOGAA
1981 Canada CC 64113601913.17

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

Awards and honours

CCHA
AwardYear
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
AwardYear(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

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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.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Award Created
CCHA Player of the Year
1976–77
Succeeded by