Michal Handzuš

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Michal Handzuš
225px
Handzuš during his tenure with the Los Angeles Kings
Born (1977-03-11) March 11, 1977 (age 47)
Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
Slovak Extraliga team
Former teams		 HC ’05 Banská Bystrica
St. Louis Blues
Phoenix Coyotes
Philadelphia Flyers
Chicago Blackhawks
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
National team  Slovakia
NHL Draft 101st overall, 1995
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1995–present

Michal Handzuš (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmɪxal ˈɦandzuʃ]; born March 11, 1977) is a Slovak professional ice hockey centre currently playing for HC ’05 Banská Bystrica of the Slovak Extraliga. Since joining the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1998, Handzuš has played for the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and, most recently, the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he won the Stanley Cup with in 2013.

Handzuš has represented Slovakia at several international ice hockey tournaments, including the 2002, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

Playing career

Michal Handzuš, nicknamed "Zeus," was drafted 101st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the St. Louis Blues, playing with them for two-and-a-half seasons from 1998–99 to 2000–01. The Blues' line of Pavol Demitra, Ľuboš Bartečko and Handzuš were known as the "Slovak Pack" line.[1] Handzuš finished second in voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top defensive-forward, following the 1999–2000 season.

Handzuš was traded on March 13, 2001, along with Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe and two first-round draft picks, to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Keith Tkachuk. Handzuš then spent two seasons with Phoenix.

On June 12, 2002, Handzuš was traded along with Robert Esche to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Brian Boucher and a third-round draft pick. On December 5, 2002, he became only the second player in NHL history to score a penalty shot goal in overtime. In the 2003–04 season, he finished second on the Flyers with 58 points and later signed a three-year contract extension with Philadelphia during the ensuing off-season.[2] During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, he played for the HKm Zvolen, which reached the playoff finals in the Slovak Extraliga.

On August 4, 2006, Handzuš was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Kyle Calder.[3] Only eight games into his season with Chicago, however, Handzuš suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2006–07 season.

On July 2, 2007, Handzuš signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings.[4]

On July 1, 2011, Handzuš signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the San Jose Sharks.[5] During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, on April 1, 2013, Handzuš was traded back to Chicago in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.[6]

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“It doesn’t matter where you play. You don’t complain, you play. You make your mark, for the team.”

Michal Handzuš about lines.[7]

On June 24, 2013, Handzuš and the Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 3–2 in Game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup. In the following off-season, on July 5, Handzuš re-signed to a one-year contract to remain with the team. On March 19, 2014, he played in his 1,000th career NHL game.

On May 28, 2014, with the Blackhawks facing elimination in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, Handzuš scored a game-winning goal in double-overtime against Los Angeles Kings, the eventually Stanley Cup champions. On June 16, after the Blackhawks had been eliminated from playoff contention, the team announced that they would not be re-signing Handzuš after the season. He subsequently became an unrestricted free agent on July 1.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1993–94 SK Iskra Banská Bystrica Slovak-Jr. 40 23 36 59 — — — — —
1994–95 SK Iskra Banska Bystrica Slovak-2 22 15 14 29 10 — — — — —
1995–96 SK Iskra Banska Bystrica Slovak-Jr. 6 6 7 13 4 — — — — —
1995–96 SK Iskra Banska Bystrica Slovak 19 3 1 4 8 — — — — —
1996–97 HK ŠKP PS Poprad Slovak 44 15 18 33 24 — — — — —
1997–98 Worcester IceCats AHL 69 27 36 63 54 11 2 6 8 10
1998–99 St. Louis Blues NHL 66 4 12 16 30 11 0 2 2 8
1999–00 St. Louis Blues NHL 81 25 28 53 44 7 0 3 3 6
2000–01 St. Louis Blues NHL 36 10 14 24 12 — — — — —
2000–01 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 10 4 4 8 21 — — — — —
2001–02 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 79 15 30 45 34 5 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 23 21 44 46 13 2 6 8 6
2003–04 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 82 20 38 58 82 18 5 5 10 10
2004–05 HKm Zvolen Slovak 33 14 24 38 34 — — — — —
2005–06 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 11 33 44 38 6 0 2 2 2
2006–07 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 8 3 5 8 6 — — — — —
2007–08 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 7 14 21 45 — — — — —
2008–09 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 18 24 42 32 — — — — —
2009–10 Los Angeles Kings NHL 81 20 22 42 38 6 3 2 5 4
2010–11 Los Angeles Kings NHL 82 12 18 30 20 6 1 1 2 0
2011–12 San Jose Sharks NHL 67 7 17 24 18 2 0 0 0 0
2012–13 HC ’05 Banská Bystrica Slovak 15 9 10 19 22 — — — — —
2012–13 San Jose Sharks NHL 28 1 1 2 12 — — — — —
2012–13 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 11 1 5 6 4 23 3 8 11 6
2013–14 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 59 4 12 16 16 19 2 1 3 8
NHL totals 1009 185 298 483 498 116 16 30 46 52
Slovak totals 111 41 53 94 64 17 5 10 15 6
220px
Handzuš (left) is knocked down by Swedish centre Henrik Sedin during the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Medal record
Representing  Slovakia
Ice hockey
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2012 Finland
Gold medal – first place 2002 Sweden
Silver medal – second place 2000 Russia

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1995 Slovakia EJC 5 5 3 8 4
1996 Slovakia WJC 6 0 3 3 2
1997 Slovakia WJC 6 2 4 6 2
2000 Slovakia WC 6 1 4 5 4
2002 Slovakia OG 2 1 0 1 6
2002 Slovakia WC 6 1 4 5 4
2005 Slovakia WC 7 3 0 3 2
2009 Slovakia WC 6 0 4 4 6
2010 Slovakia OG 7 3 3 6 0
2011 Slovakia WC 5 0 2 2 0
2014 Slovakia OG 4 0 2 2 0
Junior totals 17 7 10 17 8
Senior totals 43 9 19 28 22

Awards and achievements

This is the list of achievements of Michal Handzuš:[9]

Award Year(s)
AHL Player of the Week Apr 5, 1998
Slovak Extraliga All-Stars Team 2004–05
IIHF World Championship Medal Gold: 2002, Silver: 2000, 2012
Stanley Cup champion 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/sports/hockey/handzus-helps-shape-blackhawks-and-kings.html?_r=0
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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