Background
Liut, Mike was born on January 7, 1956 in Weston, Ontario, Canada. Son of Tony and Gloria Liut.
Liut, Mike was born on January 7, 1956 in Weston, Ontario, Canada. Son of Tony and Gloria Liut.
Bowling Green State University.
Liut played for the Cincinnati Stingers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1977 to 1979 and for the Saint Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (National Hockey League) from 1979 to 1992. Liut played college hockey at Bowling Green State University. After being named twice to the CCHA First All-Star team, the Saint 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 National Hockey League in 1979, the Blues reclaimed Liut"s rights. Liut was outstanding in his debut with Saint Louis.
His first two seasons saw him pile up 65 victories. 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 National Hockey League 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. In 1986-1987, Liut led the Whalers to their first and only Adams Division title and was named to the National Hockey League"s Second All-Star Team. He also posted the league"s best goals-against average, with the Whalers, in 1989-1990.
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 1991-1992.
Liut was the last active WHA goalie in the National Hockey League upon his retirement. Following his playing career, Liut joined the University of Michigan as an assistant coach in 1995 until the end of the 1997-1998 season.
He received a law degree in 1995, and now heads the ice hockey division at global sports management leader Octagon. Liut is a second cousin of former National Hockey League player Ron Francis (who was also his teammate on the Whalers).
Married MaryAnn L.; children: Jenna, Justin, Blake.