| Michal Handzuš | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Handzuš with theLos Angeles Kings in 2009 | |||
| Born | (1977-03-11)11 March 1977 (age 48) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | HC ’05 Banská Bystrica HK Poprad St. Louis Blues Phoenix Coyotes Philadelphia Flyers HKm Zvolen Chicago Blackhawks Los Angeles Kings San Jose Sharks | ||
| National team |  Slovakia | ||
| NHL draft | 101st overall,1995 St. Louis Blues | ||
| Playing career | 1995–2017 | ||
Michal Handzuš (Slovak pronunciation:[ˈmixalˈɦandzuʂ]; born 11 March 1977) is aSlovak former professionalice hockeycentre. Handzuš played for hometown club,HC ’05 Banská Bystrica of theSlovak Extraliga before joining theNational Hockey League (NHL) in 1998. Handzuš played for theSt. Louis Blues,Phoenix Coyotes,Philadelphia Flyers,Los Angeles Kings,San Jose Sharks and theChicago Blackhawks, with whom he won theStanley Cup with in2013.
Handzuš representedSlovakia at several international ice hockey tournaments, including the2002,2010 and2014 Winter Olympics.
Handzuš played in the 1991Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a youth team fromPoprad, Slovakia.[1]
Handzuš, nicknamed "Zeus",[2] was drafted 101st overall in the1995 NHL Entry Draft by theSt. Louis Blues, playing with them for two-and-a-half seasons from1998–99 to2000–01. The Blues' line ofPavol Demitra,Ľuboš Bartečko and Handzuš were known as the"Slovak Pack" line.[3] Handzuš finished second in voting for theFrank J. Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top defensive-forward, following the1999–2000 season.[4]
Handzuš was traded on 13 March 2001, along withLadislav Nagy,Jeff Taffe and two first-round draft picks, to thePhoenix Coyotes in exchange forKeith Tkachuk.[5] Handzuš then spent two seasons with Phoenix.[citation needed]
On 12 June 2002, Handzuš was traded along withRobert Esche to thePhiladelphia Flyers in exchange forBrian Boucher and a third-round draft pick.[6] On 5 December 2002, he became only the second player in NHL history to score a penalty shot goal in overtime. In the2003–04 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.[7] During the2004–05 NHL lockout, he played for theHKm Zvolen, which reached the playoff finals in theSlovak Extraliga.[citation needed]
On 4 August 2006, Handzuš was traded to theChicago Blackhawks in exchange forKyle Calder.[8] Only eight games into his season with Chicago, however, Handzuš suffered a tornanterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which sidelined him for the remainder of the2006–07 season.[citation needed]
On 2 July 2007, Handzuš signed a four-year, $16 million contract with theLos Angeles Kings.[9]
On 1 July 2011, Handzuš signed a two-year, $5 million contract with theSan Jose Sharks.[10] During thelockout-shortened2012–13 season, on 1 April 2013, Handzuš was traded back to Chicago in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.[11]
On 24 June 2013, Handzuš and the Blackhawks defeated theBoston Bruins 3–2 in Game 6 of the2013 Stanley Cup Finals to win theStanley Cup. In the following off-season, on 5 July, Handzuš re-signed to a one-year contract to remain with the team. On 19 March 2014, he played in his1,000th career NHL game.[citation needed]
On 28 May 2014, with the Blackhawks facing elimination in Game 5 of theWestern Conference Finals, Handzuš scored a game-winning goal in double-overtime against Los Angeles Kings, the eventual Stanley Cup champions. On 16 June, 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 1 July.[12]
Post-playing career, Handzuš joined the leadership of theSlovak Ice Hockey Federation, but resigned in September 2022 after the organization chose to continue allowing national team members to play in theKHL despite the ongoing2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine saying, "It is a fundamental value issue for me, and that is why I cannot imagine my further work in this direction of the organization,” in a statement posted to Twitter.[13]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1993–94 | ŠK Iskra Banská Bystrica | SVK U20 | 40 | 23 | 36 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | ŠK Iskra Banská Bystrica | SVK-2 | 22 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Iskra Zlatý Bažant Banská Bystrica | SVK U20 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Iskra Zlatý Bažant Banská Bystrica | SVK | 19 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | HC ŠKP PS Poprad | SVK | 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 | 82 | 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 | SVK | 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 | SVK | 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 | ||
| 2014–15 | HC '05 Banská Bystrica | SVK | 22 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 2 | ||
| 2015–16 | HC '05 Banská Bystrica | SVK | 40 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 36 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 2016–17 | HC '05 Banská Bystrica | SVK | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 | ||
| SVK totals | 183 | 61 | 85 | 146 | 167 | 64 | 13 | 31 | 44 | 24 | ||||
| NHL totals | 1,009 | 185 | 298 | 483 | 498 | 116 | 16 | 30 | 46 | 52 | ||||
 Handzuš (left) is knocked down by Swedish centreHenrik Sedin during the 2010 Winter Olympics. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Representing Slovakia | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 2002 Sweden | |
 | 2000 Russia | |
| 2012 Finland/Sweden | |
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Slovakia | EJC B | 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 | |
| 2012 | Slovakia | WC | 8 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2014 | Slovakia | OG | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 17 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | |||
| Senior totals | 51 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 22 | |||
This is the list of achievements of Michal Handzuš:[14]
| Award | Year(s) |
|---|---|
| AHL Player of the Week | 5 April 1998 |
| Slovak Extraliga All-Stars Team | 2004–05 |
| IIHF World Championship Medal | Gold:2002, Silver:2000,2012 |
| Stanley Cup champion | 2013 |
