Mike Liut

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

Michael "Mike" Dennis Liut (born January 7, 1956) is a retired Canadian 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 the 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

Liut was outstanding in his debut with St. Louis. His first two seasons saw him pile up 65 victories. In 1980–81, he was voted a runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart Trophy; he 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.

In 1985, Liut was traded to the Hartford Whalers where, in his second season, he led the NHL in shutouts with four. In that same season, Liut backstopped the Whalers into the Adams Division semifinals, 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 in 1990, but had difficulty maintaining his workhorse status because of a failing back, an ailment that led to his retirement in 1991–92. Liut was the last active WHA goalie in the NHL upon his retirement.^[1]

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.^[2]

Liut is a second cousin of former NHL player Ron Francis (who was also his teammate on the Whalers).

Career statistics

Regular season

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1973–74	Bowling Green State University	CCHA		24	10	12	0	1272	88	1	4.15	.870
1974–75	Bowling Green State University	CCHA		20	12	6	1	1174	78	0	3.99	.882
1975–76	Bowling Green State University	CCHA		21	13	5	0	1171	50	0	2.56	.905
1976–77	Bowling Green State University	CCHA		24	18	4	0	1346	61	2	2.72	—
1977–78	Cincinnati Stingers	WHA		27	8	12	0	1215	86	0	4.25	.870
1978–79	Cincinnati Stingers	WHA		54	23	27	4	3181	184	3	3.47	.882
1979–80	St. Louis Blues	NHL		54	32	23	9	3661	194	2	3.18	.896
1980–81	St. Louis Blues	NHL		61	33	14	13	3570	199	1	3.34	.892
1981–82	St. Louis Blues	NHL		64	28	28	7	3691	250	2	4.06	.876
1982–83	St. Louis Blues	NHL		68	21	27	13	3794	235	1	3.72	.878
1983–84	St. Louis Blues	NHL		58	25	29	4	3425	197	3	3.45	.884
1984–85	St. Louis Blues	NHL		32	12	12	6	1869	119	1	3.82	.880
1984–85	Hartford Whalers	NHL		12	4	7	1	731	36	1	2.95	.914
1985–86	Hartford Whalers	NHL		57	27	23	4	3282	198	2	3.62	.874
1986–87	Hartford Whalers	NHL		59	31	22	5	3476	187	4	3.23	.885
1987–88	Hartford Whalers	NHL		60	25	28	5	3532	187	2	3.18	.884
1988–89	Hartford Whalers	NHL		35	13	19	1	2006	142	1	4.25	.861
1989–90	Hartford Whalers	NHL		29	15	12	1	1683	74	3	2.64	.901
1989–90	Washington Capitals	NHL		8	4	4	0	478	17	1	2.13	.922
1990–91	Washington Capitals	NHL		35	13	16	3	1834	114	0	3.73	.885
1991–92	Washington Capitals	NHL		21	10	7	2	1123	70	1	3.74	.875
WHA totals				81	31	39	4	4396	270	3	3.69	.878
NHL totals				664	294	271	74	38,209	2221	25	3.49	.883

Playoffs

Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1978–79	Cincinnati Stingers	WHA		3	1	2	179	10	0	3.35	—
1979–80	St. Louis Blues	NHL		3	0	3	193	12	0	3.73	.891
1980–81	St. Louis Blues	NHL		11	5	6	685	50	0	4.38	.857
1981–82	St. Louis Blues	NHL		10	5	3	494	27	0	3.28	.895
1982–83	St. Louis Blues	NHL		4	1	3	240	15	0	3.75	.899
1983–84	St. Louis Blues	NHL		11	6	5	714	29	1	2.44	.920
1985–86	Hartford Whalers	NHL		8	5	2	441	14	1	1.90	.938
1986–87	Hartford Whalers	NHL		6	2	4	332	25	0	4.52	.843
1987–88	Hartford Whalers	NHL		3	1	1	159	11	0	4.16	.866
1989–90	Washington Capitals	NHL		9	4	4	507	28	0	3.31	.874
1990–91	Washington Capitals	NHL		2	0	1	48	4	0	4.98	.867
NHL totals				67	29	32	3813	215	2	3.38	.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
Senior totals					6	4	1	1	360	19	1	3.17

Awards and honours

CCHA Award Year(s) All-CCHA First Team 1974–75, 1976–77 CCHA Player of the Year 1976–77 All-CCHA Second Team 1975–76 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 Weiner, Evan (November 9, 2007). "WHA days laid the foundation for Messier's pro career". NHL.com. Retrieved October 8, 2015. http://www.nhlpa.com/About-Us/Certified-Agents/Details.aspx?AgentId=18 External links Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com Profile at legends of hockey.net Mike Liut's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database