Career
Handzuš has represented Slovakia at several international ice hockey tournaments, including the 2002, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics. Michal Handzuš, nicknamed "Zeus," was drafted 101st overall in the 1995 National Hockey League Entry Draft by the Saint Louis Blues, playing with them for two-and-a-half seasons from 1998-1999 to 2000-2001. The Blues" line of Pavol Demitra, Ľuboš Bartečko and Handzuš were known as the "Slovak Pack" line.
Handzuš was traded on March 13, 2001, along with Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe and two first-round draft picks, to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Keith Tkachuk.
Handzuš then spent two seasons with Phoenix. On June 12, 2002, Handzuš was traded along with Robert Esche to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Brian Boucher and a third-round draft pick.
On December 5, 2002, he became only the second player in National Hockey League history to score a penalty shot goal in overtime. In the 2003-2004 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.
During the 2004-2005 National Hockey League lockout, he played for the HKm Zvolen, which reached the playoff finals in the Slovak Extraliga.
On August 4, 2006, Handzuš was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Kyle Calder. Only eight games into his season with Chicago, however, Handzuš suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (Anterior Cruciate Ligament), which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2006-2007 season. On July 2, 2007, Handzuš signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings.
On July 1, 2011, Handzuš signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the San Jose Sharks.
During the lockout-shortened 2012-2013 season, on April 1, 2013, Handzuš was traded back to Chicago in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. In the following off-season, on July 5, Handzuš re-signed to a one-year contract to remain with the team
On March 19, 2014, he played in his 1,000th career National Hockey League game. On June 16, 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 July 1.