Rangers News: Del Zotto officially makes the Rangers
by Joe Fortunato on Sep 29, 2009 1:55 PM EDT
in Rangers News
41 comments
Stick salute to Steve Zipay for breaking this story over at his blog. Here are some highlights from his story:
Huge endorsement of defenseman Michael Del Zotto, 19, from coach John Tortorella after practice. "Right now he has made the club. Based on his play, he has made the club." ...Sean Avery didn't even skate on his own today, and Tortorella said---with little conviction---that he could skate tomorrow. But the coach acknowledged that if a player didn't skate three days before a game, it was doubtful that he would dress....Henrik Lundqvist, who will appear on the David Letterman Show with nine other Rangers to read the Top 10 list, was another topic of dissussion for Tortorella, who said that in order for the goaltender to be fresh as season's end, the organization must reel in some of his media "distractions"....
Okay so no surprises here. I know that alot of people think that Del Zotto should not be here because of his defensive play, but after the game against Washington who could say no. Matched up against the best player in the game (Ovechkin) I thought that Del Zotto did a fantastic job defensively.
Remember that the Rangers have 10 games to give him a look. If he plays more than 10 games he is no longer eligible for the juniors so he would have to stick with the big club. If the Rangers don't like what they see in that time frame then they can send him back with no penalty. So what do you all think? Yay or nay?
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F-ing A Yes
Give him a shot. I don’t see where we have anything to lose.
by stonecoldcory on Sep 29, 2009 2:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
impressive
Before the season I thought there was NO CHANCE of MDZ making the team. Last year it seemed he was a defensive liability in juniors.
That being said, he has been impressive this preseason. He has been shaky at times in his own zone, but he has also been solid at times against great NHL players.
His offensive game was never in question, but it’ll be nice to see that develop and progress at the NHL level – I hope it takes that path we all think it will.
Basically, if Torts and the Rangers staff think this kid can hang, then I fully trust their opinion. That’s why they are in charge.
Its possible that our PP may actually be a great strength this year.
I’m just really excited for this season to begin!
by j-red on Sep 29, 2009 2:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree, if MDZ stays our power play should be really good. Especially since we also have Gilroy with his offensive abilities, Kotalik with his crazy shot and Gaborik and his elite finishing abilities.
by MattPwrcf1 on Sep 29, 2009 2:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
and Donald Brashear to kick every player’s a** on the other team lol
by MattPwrcf1 on Sep 29, 2009 2:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Bob McKenzie notes that he will be running the power-play.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 2:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
as a related but side note i find it interesting that the rangers havent given semenov a contract yet. to me this is interesting because the assumption is that they need another vet to be the 7th or take over if they send mdz back to london. the only conclusion i can come to is the rangers are waiting to see what other veteran d-men are to become available on waivers before committing to semenov.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 2:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Agreed, I think they are waiting to see what happens around the league as well. We’ll ask Andrew Gross about that tonight.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Sep 29, 2009 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
how about a couple former rangers…strudwick and andrew hutchinson…both have cheap contracts, but i have no idea if they are going to make the oilers and stars respectively?
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Strudwick’s sticking with the Oilers, so I’m told.
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by RangerSmurf on Sep 29, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i figured especially with Tom there now.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Strudwick, ugh, been there done that
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Sep 29, 2009 3:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I wish we had Komisarek, but he would have cost too much $$$.
by MattPwrcf1 on Sep 29, 2009 2:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You and me both, I was shouting from the rooftops on July 1st that he was who I wanted to see the Rangers get. He would have filled a long time need, and it would have totally pissed off the Islander fans, which is always a nice bonus.
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by Jim Schmiedeberg on Sep 29, 2009 3:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
not to mention after getting Higgins, your giving him an old time buddy over from Islip.
by John Mjr on Sep 29, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
lets be real though we are talking about a d-man for a mil or less so to bring up Komi is pointless since he is getting 4.5.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Officially*
Oh…and HELL YES! Glad to see it in official writing as of now…
"Malik now." "6 foot 6, 238, not a noted goal scorer but he's gonna give it a shot here." "Malik has not scored this year. In on Kolzig, faked it....SCORES"
by Calm Down on Sep 29, 2009 2:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I always liked Komisarek, stay at home solid D and hard hitting and he is of Polish decent (which is nice for me since I am from Poland too and we don’t see too many Polish players in the NHL ) But oh well, now instead we get the “excellent” all star defender Semenov lol
by MattPwrcf1 on Sep 29, 2009 3:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Christoph Schubert, waived by Ottawa, is an interesting possibility.
Bigger than Semenov. Generally regarded as a competent d-man, who has enough offensive/checking ability that he was pressed into service as a forward when injuries wracked the Sens. Could allow Torts to only carry 12 “forwards”, 6 “defensemen” – plus Schubert who can fill in either way. Sort of a “two for the price of one” deal – and his #s are pretty much the same (833k) as what you’d pay Semenov.
by dbmaven on Sep 29, 2009 4:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i guess sather didnt think so since he let him clear waivers
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I believe he was waived today – waiver clearance occurs after 48 hours – e.g. Thursday.
Sather has time to put in a waiver claim.
by dbmaven on Sep 29, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Varying bits of info out there. Some saying he cleared waivers (which means he would have had to have been moved on Sunday ?) — others showing he was waived today.
I guess time will tell. NHL.COM doesn’t show him on any of the recent Transactions listings – so it’s really hard to tell.
by dbmaven on Sep 29, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
“Schubert cleared waivers on Tuesday and will start the season playing for Ottawa’s AHL affiliate in Binghamton reports the Ottawa Sun. (Sep 29)”
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I know – I saw that – which is why I posted “varying bits of information”.
by dbmaven on Sep 29, 2009 4:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
it wasnt meant to contradict u just show what i had seen.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
no worries – I didn’t take it as a contradiction
by dbmaven on Sep 29, 2009 5:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
but i do like the idea of someone who like struds can play 6/7 d-man and 12/13 forward and they could cost more if we could then dump voros and his 1 mil in the minors.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Great move
He earned it with great play. I still think it’s doubtful he stays past the 9 game limit, but it will serve him well to get a taste of the NHL so he can find out his true weaknesses and work on them at a lower level without the pressure of the NY media.
I have a feeling we’ll be seeing Sangs or Heikkinen in a couple weeks, unless Torts is seriously impressed with Semenov.
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by Steeeve on Sep 29, 2009 4:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I guess I'll ask this again
If Sanguinetti couldn’t beat out MDZ in camp, why exactly are we thinking that MDZ would get sent down in 10 games in favor of Sanguinetti coming back?
MDZ should be here for the long haul unless he’s absolutely putrid.
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by RangerSmurf on Sep 29, 2009 6:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i was going to ask about martin skoula who got released by columbus but i see pitt signed him.
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Good for MDZ. Real Good.
In an unrelated, yet related, story… I know who’ll be watching the David Letterman show tomorrow!
"Jaromir Jagr.... it's a POWER PLAY GOAL!"
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by rmc235 on Sep 29, 2009 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
wow…the canucks sent Hodgson back to Brampton
by mleetch352 on Sep 29, 2009 4:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
really
i did not see that coming.
LET'S GO RANGERS!!!
by Moshe52792 on Sep 29, 2009 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Absolutely!!
Give him a shot! The youngs guys on D did great last year(Staal and Girardi). Looking forward to seeing Del Zotto play! Have not missed a game in Years! I agree with Steeve.
by DiehardNYRfan on Sep 29, 2009 6:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i think we all realize that mdz has some defensive woes, but honestly, we are a playoff team, and have a punchers chance at making a run to the cup. so we are basically looking for whoever has auditioned the best for the job(as torts has said himself) , whoever fits torts system the best, and whoever would do a better job helping us win games. in my mind, and obviously ranger shot-callers, mdz is that guy.
by Conway on Sep 29, 2009 6:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Im loving this move Del Zotto deserves to be on the team and i think his minutes will mostly on the PP, but im excited to see what him and Gilroy can do this year.
by louielounz1 on Sep 29, 2009 9:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It's about time...
the Rangers homegrown products actually play for the Rangers. :)
[img]http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0eTH2sm73rf3u/610x.jpg[/img]
by Peterman700 on Sep 30, 2009 5:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
yea because those guys names Lundqvist, Callahan, Dubinsky, Staal, and Girardi are those homegrown products that dont play for the rangers.
by mleetch352 on Sep 30, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
MDZ
I’m glad he got his shot. he’s only 19 and if he plays now, imagine when he is 25! he’s going to be a beast!
by spartan12 on Sep 30, 2009 11:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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