Mike Liut - NHL Career

NHL Career

Liut was outstanding in his debut with St. Louis. His first two seasons saw him pile up 71 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 a disappointing 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 OT 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.

Following his playing career, Liut joined the University of Michigan as an assistant coach in 1995–96 until the end of the 1997–98 season. He received a law degree in 1995, and now heads up the ice hockey division at global sports management leader Octagon.

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