For most of his career Konopka has been classified solely as a goon and it is easy to see why. After parts of seven seasons in the NHL, Konopka has scored a mere 11-goals in 250-games, while at the same time racking up 877-minutes in penalties. Since 2002, he has bounced back and forth from minor league hockey to the NHL, only recently having garnered a full time stay in "the Show". While vying to solidify a permanent NHL roster spot during that time, he has had stops in the East Coast Hockey, the American Hockey League, and even the former Russian Super League, which was the predecessor of the current Kontinental Hockey League, Eastern Europe's version of the NHL. In that time, Konopka has played for 14 different hockey clubs in total. 
Konopka has been viewed as an expendable. Not having the talent to make a regular lineup in the NHL, he has done his darndest to earn a spot with his tough, physical play and fisticuffs. Konopka was the most penalized player in the NHL during both the 2009-10 and the 2010-11 seasons. He had 33 and 25 fighting-majors in each of those seasons respectively as well; the 33 fights in '09-'10 being more than any other player in the league that season. Though Konopka has most often been used for intimidation purposes only for any team that he has played for, after his performance in Ottawa's losing efforts against the Rangers that very well may change. In the 6-games that Konopka played in during the opening round, he was a faceoff wizard. He would win 75-percent, 73-percent, 83-percent, 63-percent, and 77-percent of his faceoffs across the last six games of the series respectively. Those stats alone could make him a highly sought after prize for any franchise in the league. It is very rare for a player to win that percentage of draws in the circle repeatedly. Having been so proficient on the draw allowed Konopka to take a regular shift during the series and play some of the longest amounts of ice-time in his career.
Along with how well he performed on faceoffs, what impressed me most about Zenon Konopka during the playoffs was his determination to win and his drive to play at his best. I felt that he was one of the most intense players to watch during the series. So much so that it got Konopka into a bit of trouble, as the NHL fined him $10,000 after he "verbally abused" a Ranger player that was giving a live-interview prior to the start of Game Two. Regardless of that incident, Konopka was constantly in front of the Rangers net, screening premier goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and driving Rangers defensemen to the boiling point. Being built like a tank at a solid 6'0" and 210lbs., and owning very imposing stare, Konopka created much havoc as he made camp in the New York crease.
Despite the losing effort by the Sens, Konopka would finish the series with 2-assists and a plus-2 in the 6 playoff games he appeared in for Ottawa. These 2-points were ninth best on the Senators team and his plus-2 in the losing series tied for second best on the Ottawa roster. Konopka had a better faceoff winning percentage than any other centerman for the Senators and still has one of the best percentages for regular faceoff takersfor any team in the NHL playoffs thus far.
At 31-years of age, Konopka very well may have earned himself the security of a full-time, permanent job in the NHL. Any team would want a player who can win faceoffs that steadily, and with his tenacity to boot Zenon Konopka is the kind of player that every winning team wants and desires. I wish for his success for next season and for years ahead. I have taken a whole new appreciation of him as a player who is multidimensional in numerous aspects of the game; not just when it comes to dropping the gloves.
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