The Kings face off against an old friend tonight, as they meet the San Jose Sharks and veteran center Michal Handzus. Handzus spent four seasons with the Kings before he signed with the Sharks as a free agent last summer. Handzus’ stats this season haven’t been overwhelming — three goals and 11 assists in 30 games — but as was the case during his time with the Kings, Handzus’ value isn’t measured only in numbers. His work ethic is beyond compare and he’s been described by many as being like a coach on the ice. Today, Sharks coach Todd McLellan talked about what Handzus has brought to his team.
MCLELLAN: “I’m glad you asked that question, because it’s easy to talk about him. He has a lot of qualities that Rob Blake or Nick Lidstrom possessed. The professionalism. When he walks in the door, he comes to the rink to get better personally, but he also comes to the rink to make sure the team is improving. He takes care of himself, works hard away from the ice surface so that he can maintain a high level of health and fitness. I really believe, if this guy wants to be a coach or in some form of management, where he can have an impact on an organization, just like Blakey or Nick Lidstrom, I think he has the ability to do that. He’s that bright and that good. When you look at some of the players that have played with him, Jamie McGinn in particular, Jamie was a little bit lost last year. I think he would tell you that as well. He isn’t this year. He’s got a real focus, a real simplicity to his game, and as much as we [coaches] would like to take credit for that, we’re not. We’re going to put that on Zeus.’’
You always miss these types of guys when they are gone.
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MindGeyser Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:09 pm
@Helvetica, I was just about to post something similar. I think a lot of fans need to consider that when talking about lineups and roster moves.
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Zues isn’t the best scorer in the league but I will miss the guy, he brought so much to the team, like what the Sharks coach said, he was a like a coach on the ice and that’s definitely what the boys need. I will miss most of all shouting ZUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS at Staples Center
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JeZus saves!!!
plus he has sweet hair and can grow a mean stache.
awesome dude off the rink too. literally jogged to the locker room to grab a silver pen to sign my hat because he didn’t think black ink would look good.
rad.
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Scot Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:51 pm
@jack handy,
Awesome story.
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soyokaze Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:05 pm
@jack handy, Loved Zus when he was here. I asked him when he was going to grow back that awesome mullet like the one he had in Philly at the Kings Fest last year. He just laughed and said maybe.
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3 goals & 11 assists????
Penner would give up eating for those stats….
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sly24 Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:46 pm
@dahack11, dude that comment just made my day lol
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DL made a mistake not signing Zus. Instead signed 2 players that nobody wanted.
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Scarletcat Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:23 pm
@Shaibou, You don’t know what you’ve got until gone…..
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CB14 Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:29 pm
@Shaibou, That was due to the salary cap. Zues’ cap hit is 2.5 million, those 2 players combined cap hit is 1.2 million.
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Scot Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:52 pm
@Shaibou,
Yup. Should have traded Stoll and kept Zus. Even if it meant not getting much in return for Stoll. His salary could have gone to Zus, which would have made us a better team.
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Scot Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Easier said than done though. DL would have had to re-sign Zus prior to trading Stoll.. But he had already acquired Mike Richards, so at that point, Handzus probably felt like he had less opportunity here. If DL had traded Stoll before signing Zus, he risked losing them both.
…And of course, this is all assuming Handzus actually would have wanted to stay here. I can’t hardly blame him for accepting an opportunity to play for San Jose, where he has a great chance to win a Cup.
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‘Zues was the epitome of the “unsung hero” for the Kings. The players respect(ed) him tremendously. Fans didn’t always pay him due because he wasn’t out there scoring goals to their satisfaction.
Michal Handzus is one of my favourite players in the NHL. May he play for years, but I’d love to see him come back to LA to coach.
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Fridgemagnet Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:30 pm
@Scarletcat,
+1million =)
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I always thought Handzus was rock solid and dependable…not the guy to lead a breakaway but the guy who did the work that made a breakaway possible. Why did we let him go and
and acquire Hunter and Moreau (now gone) and others.
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Zeus is sorely missed by this team.
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Zues is the best player we lost in the last few years.
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Like Scarletcat said above, he’s under-appreciated by some fans sometimes, but not by his teammates. I miss this guy a ton, he does SO MANY little things that go unnoticed every game!
He should have been wearing an “A” on his jersey instead of Greene the past few years, but that’s neither here nor there at this point.
Also one of my all time favorite Kings, & players in general.
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Woulda, coulda, shoulda, ready? We should have kept Zeus for a more experienced bottom-6 group.
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I will be in San Jose on Monday night cheering for Zeus and the Sharks against the Ducks – that is really the only time I can root for them. I will be representing in my Kings Zeus jersey. I miss him every game. Classy, smart, invaluable. I wish too that we’d kept Zeus and gotten rid of Stoll.
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I wonder if he was helping Clifford more than we realized and that is why Clifford is in a slump.
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Scot Reply:
December 23rd, 2011 at 6:42 pm
@Hampstertail,
Great point!
I would definitely have to agree with that.
Handzus covers up mistakes made by his teammates, and makes them better at the same time.
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Zeus made up for lack of scoring just by how many shots he would block on the PK for this team. That guy would give himself up during any moment of the game; even when losing by five.
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Zeus was/is awewsome – and was probably my favorite King, but I think we all expected he wouldn’t be back. I’m glad he’s appreciated in San Jose.
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Anytime you have your name mentioned with guys like Lidstrom and Blake, you know you’re a solid NHLer.
Zeus would look like Stamkos on the Kings right now with those “gaudy” numbers.
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Well we must be the the thirty or so fans who actually appreciated him. According to the know it all’s, he was just too slow. That’s what it’s all about these days according to the experts. Was my favorite King of all time but Richards is some kind of player. I would have to throw Matty and Ziggy in there too. I hope he gets a cup!
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The majority of the NHL community underrate what this guy does on and off the ice. He’s a very good 3rd liner – plays PK’s in a very effective way and can also help out on the PP units if required. The lack of commitment we’ve seen in the last couple of weeks was also because of the missing leadership and I believe a guy like Zeus would’ve come in handy in such a situation, if not to say would’ve been crucial to this young team.
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