Depending on how you look at it, Michal Handzus will get either his second or third chance at the Olympics in a few weeks. Handzus represented Slovakia in 2002 (EDIT: and won a gold medal with Slovakia in the 2002 World Championships) and was selected again in 2006, but in the second-to-last NHL game before the Olympic break that year, Handzus separated his shoulder and did not play in Turin, Italy.
Handzus on Tuesday was again selected to represent Slovakia in the two-week tournament in February and Vancouver, and this afternoon to him about his selection…
Question: How does it feel to be selected to your third Olympic team?
HANDZUS: “It’s great. Obviously it’s going to be the best players there, so it’s going to be exciting. Playing for your country is always exciting, and I will get to play with a lot of friends that I have played with over the years, so it’s going to be nice for sure.”
Question: Have you had a chance to look at your roster closely? What do you think?
HANDZUS: “We’re in this generation and we have played a lot together. We won gold in 2002, and this is probably going to be one of the last international tournaments for a lot of guys in our group. We’re getting older, so it’s going to be exciting. This group of guys, we know each other and we have some really, really good players, game-breakers, so it’s up to us about how we get together. Obviously we want to make something happen there.”
Question: There’s a lot of debate about whether NHL players should be in the Olympics, but players seem very much in favor of it. Why is it such a special thing?
HANDZUS: “It’s the Olympics. It’s the best tournament in the world for international play, and playing for your country is always exciting. You know that a lot of people back home, your family, they’re watching you and the whole country is excited to watch it. It brings excitement to the locker room. It’s a short tournament. It’s only 14 days, so I don’t think it should matter a lot to the NHL. Obviously it’s in Canada, so it’s going to have great coverage. I think it’s going to help the game, for sure, and it’s going to showcase a lot of great players. I think it’s going to be great and it’s going to be exciting.”
Rich, Did you have any one translate his english to you? hehehe
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Zus is all up in you!
He’s the man.
Those who don’t think he is a great player have zero hockey knowledge.
Now, if he’d only grow his hair out again!
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Pardon my confusion, but in what tournament did the Slovaks win gold in 2002? Because it certainly wasn’t the Olympics. That was Canada. Maybe the World Championships, but that seems a little off to me as well….
Can anyone look that up?
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Kopitar has far more problems than Frolov does at the moment. Two or three goals in twenty games is not the production of a first line center. He is too soft and slow.
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zeus is a decent player but he is totally over paid.
4 Mil for a 3rd line center who probably wont have 20 goals. That was not a good deal.
If he were 1.5 to 2 mil I would be happy.
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Rich
Time to take a few days off and recharge the batteries. Slovakia didn’t win gold in Salt Lake.
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It was the World Championships where they took gold in 2002.
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Verno
I think I have hockey knowledge and I certainly don’t think Zeus is a “great” player. If you think he’s “great”, you throw that word around way too easy.
When I think of great, I think of Gretzky, Lemieux and Orr. They were “great”.
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What’s it like to think?
Watch the game. Look at how many opportunies other teams would have if he wasn’t a great player and always in the right place. Just because your definition is different..it doesn’t discount how good he is.
People who know hockey realize that points aren’t the only thing you look at.
Gretzky and Lemieux were great offensive players. They sucked at defense…
Players have their roles..and he is the master of his.
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Shrimp,
Respectfully, I think we should vary our vocabulary. If Gretzky, Lemieux, and Orr were “great,” then every “great” player today is, at best, “average.” I think something more appropriate would be something like “god” or “breathtaking.” They were the “greatest” (or among them, I don’t want to assume unanimity), so might they deserve the effort from us as fans and observers to come up with the best ways possible to describe the game each man played?
Handzus has done his job the past two years with the Kings. His $4mil salary might make everything skewed a bit toward wanting him to light the lamp, but he’s been a “good enough” player, I think, for the Kings.
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People People stop….cant we all just get along? The first 15 games ZERO secondary scoring…Last 30 ONLY secondary scoring…No Top 6 scoring at all, now thats good coaching my friends…The players that Lombardi thinks are superstars and the future of this franchise are all mentioned in trade talks..Thats a sign of a great team and a well built squad from the ground up. This is the 3 year plan conclusion? I would of much rather been out of it by now than to watch this team fall fast and hard like they are with no upper management care what so ever. Dont be fooled..The orders from above are ” Play with what you have there is no more money”
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What do you call someone like Bob Gainey if you think Handzus is a great defensive player? He’s pretty good but Handzus is not a great anything.
So, he’s the master of his role. So, you’re saying he’s a slam dunk to win the Selke this year?
It’s Slovakia BTW. He wouldn’t even get a sniff at the Olympics if he was Canadian.
If you come back and tell me he’d make Team Canada then you are the one without hockey knowledge.
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Maybe he’s great in Slovakia.
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uvgt2bkdnme
Exactly. I agree. Zeus has been “good enough” for the Kings but there’s a pretty big gap between “good enough” and “great”. That’s all I’m saying. I’ll do him one better than “good enough”. I think he’s a pretty good defensive player.
So, do you think Zeus is great or not. If you don’t you have zero hockey knowledge according to Verno.
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Face it people if he (Zues) was Polanski he would have been charged with Rape for the 4 year 16 mil he got..If only I went to law school.
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Congrats to Zues.Weaknesses;lack of speed.Strengths;defensive savy and veteran wisdom to overcome weaknesses.
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Shrimp,
If I say something like “Michal Handzus is great,” then that would only make sense if I believed that, say, “Alexander Ovechkin is [bleeping] unbelievable!” or “Evgeni Malkin is stupidly amazing!” Ditto for the approximately 200+ players I would take in a fantasy league before him and the (I’m just making up numbers) 1500+ players I’d put on an all-time team before him.
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“Just Sayin”
What you describe sounds more like a lack of balance to me. Take skilled players and make them checking line players? Relying on garbage goals for offense? Skilled players must do their dirty work to win with regularity, but scrapping for 60 minutes also gives you a 50/50 chance of losing.
Just over a year ago Chicago hired a new coach that got them into the playoffs, has continued to develop outstanding young players, and is currently ranked near the top of the league. Colorado finished second to last only 7 months ago and are flying.
We’ve done fairly well this season, but in my opinion there are some glaring weaknesses, like our team-defense. There’s half a season yet to be played. I hope for much much more than we’ve seen. A deadly power-play (which is a must in the post-season) is one ingredient we need desperately.
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Handzus is great, and I have hockey knowledge. Goodnight now.
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