Mike Liut Was My Mailman

... And my mailman looked like Rocky Dennis. It's all about the mask.

Back in 1930, my dawg Howie Morenz used goalie Clint Benedict's bare face as a shooter target. Benedict suffered major facial injuries, including a smashed nose and cheekbone, and was forced to semi-protect a busted face that resembled Sly Stallone in Rocky II.

Enter the mask. A crappy, leather-type, tailor made for WWF's Mankind, Mick Foley, not a puck stopper in the National Hockey League. And though Benedict donned the shabby face guard for mere self-preservation, the experiment was short-lived. The mask was dissed after the next game; a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Many years later, in 1959, the heralded Jacques Plante was officially credited with pioneering the mask, after taking some vulcanized rubber to the face, courtesy of the Rangers' Andy Bathgate. And as legend turns to folklore, and folklore turns to gospel, Plante gets to ride off into the sunset forever known as the Don Corleone of hockey masks.

Phooey, I say. The hockey mask was put on the map in 1979, and my mailman Michael Dennis Liut better start getting some props. Not props for the BEST hockey mask of all-time; those honors go to my favorite goalie ever, Gerry Cheevers and his famed stitches.

The mailman deserves props because his mask is a freak of sports nature.

In a recent poll, a panel of 1,238,896 drunken sports fans were asked to rate the top-3 disturbing things in sports history. The results were:

1. Mike Liut's mask
2. Mike Tyson
3. The size of Barry Bond's head

Not only is Liut's mask synonymous with names like Tyson and Bonds; the mailman has also inspired film culture. His mask has been used to mold the face of Rocky Dennis and the Snowtrooper.

Jacques Plante may be in the Hall of Fame and rank higher than Vladislav Tretiak on some all-time great goalie lists, but his shiznit didn't shape a high-selling Kenner action figure.

The mailman delivered between the pipes as well. He was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the 5th round (56th overall) in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft, and after a brief stint with the WHA's Cincinnati Stingers, Liut was reclaimed by the Blue Notes.

Liut played a solid 13 seasons in the NHL, with stops in St. Louis, Hartford and Washington. He was a lanky, intimidating netminder, and is the cousin of the ex-NHLer Ron Francis. In 1980-81 he was a 1st team all-star and finished runner-up to Wayne Gretzky for the Hart trophy.

Some suggest it all went downhill for the mailman when the Whale sent his ass packing to Washington in exchange for plugger Yvon Corriveau in 1990. Personally, I think his illustrious career took a turn for the worse when he discarded THE MASK in favor of a more traditional, wire/facemask-combo.

Well Mask, here's to you... pioneer, legend and mailman. Prost! Somewhere Eric Stoltz is tipping his glass...

-- TGOJ