Some fans now deem Michal Handzus, the Kings’ highest paid forward, a disappointment. I engaged in a rather heated and passionate discussion Tuesday with other letsgokings.com regulars as to whether he is the biggest bust, under-achieving, not physically ready or some combination of all of these.
Considering this season he scored only 4 points, taken 30 shots and possesses a 3.3 shooting percentage, perhaps everyone has a point. The label seems appealing with the cap dollars spent on a player Lombardi called the “key guy” in this off season’s free agent shopping spree. Read the GM’s assessment in this article:
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL...307275-cp.html
I think part of the problem lies with perception. Handzus had 8 points in 8 games with the Blackhawks last season before injury. His playoff points in the 2004 Flyers Eastern Conference run also add to this assumption. In contrast, Handzus was not actually a player viewed as a top line center. I will attempt to bring clarity for these misperceptions.
This guy's overall offensive numbers show him to be more of a defensive specialist and prior Selke nominee, than the man who scored huge #1 or #2 line numbers. Make no mistake every team needs a shut down player. The problem lies with Lombardi signing Handzus with a salary and hole to fill as the team’s #2 center and so far he has played closer to the Kings’ #4 center. It is undeniable that to date Handzus has yet to come close to the player he was on other NHL clubs. What is the value and appropriate salary for a shut down defensive center anyway?
When in doubt, look at hockey’s version of a Mr. October line that had their coming out party last spring. Who can forget the shut down line of the Ducks, Moen, Neidermayer and Pahllson, who were as key to this So cal rival’s championship as the de facto retirees, Selanne and the other Neidermayer.
Who is the guy behind the hair?
That took about 8 hours of research alone. The answers were few and far between. To be fair, I don’t speak Slovakian so the articles in Slovak were of no use to me.. oops!
The motivation for this blog is to try and get to know this NHL player who is rarely interviewed; that is, if looking at over 50 web search pages via an internet search engine is any indication. Hockey Buzz’s Eklund asked me in a November podcast to assess the success of this free agent signing. To be fair, I explained I thought assessing this free agent signing for Handzus would be more accurate at the end of next season.
Grading the success of Lombardi’s signing before then is misplaced. Athletes who tear their ACL and in this case, the MCL as well, generally take two years post-injury to accurately identify recovery and future capacity.
The first year lost is solely for the physical healing. The second year is where the emotional recovery takes place. I will explain further.
Before sustaining an injury this significant, it is easy for a warrior like Handzus, to go into corners, be fearless, and feel immortal and invincible. Problem is after this injury type, when a person has their own body fail them, there is a different level of hurt that brings an emotional component which must also heal.
This is the kind of hurt where an athlete cannot will their body through sheer mental tenacity to do things. As a result, there is a whole different dimension Handzus had to overcome before anyone can accurately predict his Kings’ future potential.
While a Flyer, his best offensive numbers came in the 2003-2004 year with 58 points, where he played every regular and post-season game. The Flyers were in a race to not only make the playoffs, but also to earn the Atlantic Division title. The Flyers cinched it in their Islander win on April 4, 2004. His spectacular play continued where he played in every Stanley Cup Playoff game. He was a key component in that team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final where he contributed 10 points and 5 goals toward the cause.
This was the same run that illustrated Roenick’s best heroics. Despite Hatcher breaking his jaw earlier in the year, he returned one week prior to the post-season and joined Handzus in propelling that Flyer team into its closer than close Cup run. That tease probably motivated Taylor’s trade for Roenick. Perhaps the Flyers knew more the cost of the prior season’s run. Read more here:
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2004/...ing050504.html
Handzus was a guy who sustained a shoulder injury in the 2005-2006 season, missed his opportunity to play in the 2006 Olympics for Slovakia, missed a scant 5 Flyers’ games after those same Olympics, then with his shoulder braced quite literally, delayed surgery hoping to help the Flyers finish what they started in the 2004 playoffs.
They fell far short when they were outmatched, outskilled and frankly beaten by a healthier Buffalo Sabres. Handzus was one of multiple Flyers who put their health second in that ill-fated series. Michal’s stats were far less impressive than the prior run. In contrast, his mental toughness never had shown brighter.
This blogger has some experience with intestinal fortitude and life changing injury. In many ways for me, the emotional recovery was far harder than the physical one. As a result, I feel especially qualified to make this assessment.
I suspect these stats and that magical 2004 run for the Flyers is why Lombardi said that the Flyers’ training staff considered Handzus the toughest Flyer. This is no small compliment considering the Flyers are most defined by their toughness.
As evidence that he goes where he is needed, check out this video when Handzus got best stop of the game. He became a one time goalie to prevent a goal against when his net minder was elsewhere:
Even more compelling has to be his successful penalty OT shot for the Flyers which can be viewed here:
Or this shoot-out goal may make a Kings’ fan feel cheated since fans rarely see his offensive side. Watch here for more:
Now that I have made every Kings’ fan alive wish for
that player, I want to go in my time machine and view Handzus back when he was drafted. He was a fourth round 101st pick by the St. Louis Blues in 1995.
He played there in a time when lines were named to raise their infamy. Many remember the Legion of Doom line, the Kings’ great Triple Crown Line (Taylor, Dionne and Simmer who each had a 100 point season). There was also the St. Louis Blues’ Slovak Pack which matched Handzus, Nagy and Lubos Bartecko.
While researching this blog, I found a cool article going over the great NHL lines of lore. Please forgive this off-topic segway and check this article for some great NHL history:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-69698373.html
Back on topic, Handzus really is a heart and soul player more than an offensive juggernaut. He just is and his stats bare this out. His stats can be viewed here:
http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/p...php3?pid=30375
Evidence of Handzus and his value to teams can also be illustrated in the 2002 Slovakian World Champion team gold. This was a first for the new country. In literally one of the only and definitely longest quotes from Handzus I could find, he describes how that team won and what it took to be victorious over Russia:
“I was asking my teammates to pinch me, even while we were still on the ice. I still cannot believe it. Us, world champions? Slovakia, world champions? Hmm. That sounds good. I like the sound of it! The fans were awesome. We felt like we were playing in our home arena. Are you sure this is Sweden? It really felt like playing in Slovakia. But I almost got a heart attack, maybe a few, when the Russians came back and tied it. They had the wind in their sails, and we were fighting to get our brakes unlocked. We had to play very defensively, and that wasn't a good feeling for us. But Palffy, Bondra, Bartecko, Satan...we all knew that if any of us dug deeper, we could turn things in our favor and score the decisive goal. The game plan was to play patient defense. We weren't going to try to do crazy stuff out there. Our first two goals came from this approach."
Quotes from players on both the Russian and Slovakian teams in the 2002 Finals can be read here:
http://www.iihf.com/news/iihfpr2102.htm
Handzus probably dug down to his toes to help secure that 2002 Gold win for Slovakia. He overcame other obstacles including injuries to his bicep, abdomen, shoulder and the most devastating ACL and MCL tear that ended his premature season with the Blackhawks.
After delaying shoulder surgery until the 2006 off-season while a Flyer, he still started and excelled from the last two pre-season games and the start of the regular season with the Blackhawks. I speculate that his ability to play despite prior injuries and his inability to do the same with his most recent knee injury has everything to do with his current slow start.
I get that it is easy and emotionally satisfying to write off Handzus as a free agent bust. It makes sense with his current abysmal shooting percentage, thorough lack of offense which seems far worse by the fewer shots attempted.
I implore all Kings’ fan to exhale, find some patience and give Lombardi’s “key signing” a chance to trust his knee and body that I suggest, for the first time in his life, failed him. When fans look at an athlete’s paycheck, it is too easy to forget their humanity. This very real flesh and blood player will have to dig deep yet again to trust his own flesh and blood before him, or us, can see the man behind the nickname, Zeus.
Carla Muller Carla.hockeygal@att.net 
Carla Muller
Expectations, Misperceptions, Injury and the Man Behind the Nickname: Zeus 
