Michal Handzuš
| Michal Handzuš | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Handzuš during his tenure with the Los Angeles Kings | |||
| Born |
March 11, 1977 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]
“It doesn’t matter where you play. You don’t complain, you play. You make your mark, for the team.”
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 | ||||
 Handzuš (left) is knocked down by Swedish centre Henrik Sedin during the 2010 Winter Olympics. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Slovakia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2012 Finland | |
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2002 Sweden | |
| | 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
- ↑ "The Olympians: Pavol Demitra – Vancouver Canucks – Features". Canucks.nhl.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Flyers sign Handzus, avoid arbitration". www.tsn.ca. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ↑ "Hawks Trade Calder for Handzus". The Sports Network. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ↑ "Kings ink Nagy, Handzus, Preissing, Calder". The Sports Network. April 3, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2009.
- ↑ "Sharks Sign Handzuš To Two-Year Contract Worth $5 Million". The Sports Network. July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ↑ "Blackhawks acquire Handzus from Sharks for draft pick". The Sports Network. April 1, 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-011. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/sports/hockey/handzus-helps-shape-blackhawks-and-kings.html?_r=0
- ↑ "Blackhawks to Part Ways with Michal Handzus". NBC Chicago. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ↑ "EliteProspects – Player info". EliteProspects. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michal Handzuš. |
- Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Michal Handzuš at NHLPA