Michal Handzuš
| Michal Handzuš | |
|---|---|
 Handzuš during his tenure with the Los Angeles Kings | |
| Born | March 11, 1977 Banská Bystrica, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Chicago Blackhawks St. Louis Blues Phoenix Coyotes Philadelphia Flyers Los Angeles Kings San Jose Sharks |
| National team |  Slovakia |
| NHL Draft | 101st overall, 1995 St. Louis Blues |
| Playing career | 1995–present |
 Handzuš (left) is knocked down by Swedish centre Henrik Sedin during the 2010 Winter Olympics. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Slovakia
| ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
| Silver | 2012 Finland | |
| Gold | 2002 Sweden | |
| Silver | 2000 Russia | |
Michal Handzuš (Slovak pronunciation: [ˈmɪxal ˈɦandzuʃ]; born March 11, 1977) is a Slovak professional ice hockey player. Handzuš is currently a member of the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Since joining the league in 1998, Handzuš has also played for the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Handzuš was a member of the 2013 Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawk team. Handzuš has represented his country at several international ice hockey tournaments, including the 2002 and 2010 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. St. Louis Blues threesome Pavol Demitra, Ľuboš Bartečko and Handzuš were known as the Slovak Pack line.[1] He finished second in voting for the Frank J. Selke Trophy 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 for Keith Tkachuk. Handzuš spent two seasons with Phoenix.
On June 12, 2002, Handzuš was traded along with Robert Esche to the Philadelphia Flyers 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. He became a fan favorite in Philadelphia. In the 2003–04 season he finished second on the Flyers with 58 points, and signed a three-year contract with Philadelphia in the 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, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Kyle Calder.[3] Only eight games into his season with Chicago, however, Handzuš suffered a torn ACL which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2006–07 season.
On July 2, 2007, Handzuš signed a four-year, $16 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings.[4]
On July 1, 2011, Handzus signed a two-year contract worth $5 million with the San Jose Sharks.[5]
During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, on April 1, 2013, Handzus was traded by the Sharks back to the Chicago Blackhawks 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 Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins 3-2 in game six of the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals to win the Stanley Cup. On July 5, 2013, Handzuš signed a one-year contract to remain with the Chicago Blackhawks.
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 | ||
| NHL totals | 950 | 180 | 286 | 466 | 482 | 97 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 44 | ||||
| Slovak totals | 111 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 64 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 6 | ||||
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 | |
| Junior int'l totals | 17 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | |||
| Senior int'l totals | 39 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 22 | |||
Awards and achievements
This is the list of achievements of Michal Handzuš:[8]
| 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
- Slovaks in the NHL
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 Handzus 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. Retrieved 2013-04-011.
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/sports/hockey/handzus-helps-shape-blackhawks-and-kings.html?_r=0
- ↑ "EliteProspects - Player info". EliteProspects. Retrieved June 26, 2013.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michal Handzuš. |
- Michal Handzuš – player profile and career stats at European Hockey.Net
- Michal Handzuš's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Michal Handzuš at Hockey-Reference.com
- Michal Handzuš's biography at Legends of Hockey
- Michal Handzuš's player profile at NHL.com
- Michal Handzuš at NHLPA