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Michael Del Zotto News & Rumors

Del Zotto shaky following death in family
May 22
New York Post
 
"On the grand stage of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals, in front of an energized Devils fan base at the Prudential Center in Newark last night, Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto had his worst game of these playoffs — if not of his young career. It was agonizing to watch, as the 21-year-old, just two days removed from the death of his grandmother, made three glaring turnovers in the first 23 minutes of the game as the Devils won, 4-1, and tied the best-of-seven series with tomorrow night's Game 5 set for the Garden. "It was a struggle for him," coach John Tortorella said. "He hasn't had many like that this year.""
Del Zotto 'day-to-day' with hip injury
March 3
New York Post
 
"Michael Del Zotto, who missed Friday night's Rangers' 4-3 overtime defeat against the Lightning with a hip injury he first sustained last Saturday against Buffalo and then aggravated Thursday in Carolina, called himself "day-to-day" and is thus questionable for tomorrow's match at the Garden against the Bruins. "There was no specific play. It just got to the point where I couldn't do the things I needed to do," Del Zotto said of the pain that limited him and forced him out of Thursday's game after the second period. "It doesn't make any sense for me to go out there when I'm less than 100-percent and can't be myself when we have other guys at 100-percent who can do the job." Del Zotto,"
Rangers ticked over 'sucker punch' on Michael Del Zotto
December 31
New York Post
 
"When Michael Del Zotto's stick ended up getting into the face of Tomas Kopecky with 10 seconds left in last night's 4-1 Rangers' win, it looked like a hard hockey play. It was certainly a crosscheck, and a high one at that, but a hockey play. When Kopecky then retaliated by blindsiding Del Zotto with a gloved punch to the face that dropped the Rangers' 21-year-old blueliner, then it became another matter entirely. "It was a sucker punch," said a very irritated coach John Tortorella. "That's what [ticks] me off about this game — sometimes there's no honor. I just wish, again, I wish the players could police themselves instead of too many rules in that rulebook. "That's bad," the coach"
Del Zotto stands out in Rangers' surge
November 28
New York Post
 
"There's nothing easier than picking out the flaws of a NHL team you see every day, and, in this case, nothing easier than pointing out what the Rangers don't do. But of all the things the Rangers do not do, chief among them is that they simply do not allow goals. In going 12-5-3, the Blueshirts have recorded an NHL-leading 2.05 GAA in surrendering a sum of 41 goals and only 29 at even strength as they prepare for tomorrow night's Garden showdown against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Again: 29 goals at even strength in 20 games. Marc Who? No, of course, the Rangers miss Marc Staal, but the job they've done without their No. 1 defensemen is all but remarkable. The goaltending has been at a"
Michael Del Zotto plans to be in mix for Rangers
May 30
Bergen Record
 
"The season began with Michael Del Zotto expected to lead the Rangers' power play. It ended with the defenseman in the minors, injured, and the team swiftly eliminated from the playoffs due, to a large extent, to its man-advantage struggles. But the Rangers' best fix for their woeful power play still may be Del Zotto, who does not turn 21 until June 24. At the very least, that's how Del Zotto figures it. "At the end of the day, it's a special teams game and that's what I bring to the table," Del Zotto said by phone from his home in Stouffville, Ont. "I've never been motivated like this." Del Zotto is just finishing healing from the finger he broke in his first game for Connecticut (AHL)"
Michael Del Zotto has hernia surgery
May 4
ESPN.com
 
"New York Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia Tuesday morning, the team announced. Del Zotto is expected to be ready for training camp after the procedure, which was performed by Dr. William Meyers at the Riverview Surgical Center in Philadelphia."
Torts mum on Del Zotto's future
February 8
New York Post
 
"Michael Del Zotto was in the lineup and Steve Eminger was out for the fourth consecutive game, but coach John Tortorella said prior to the Rangers' 3-2 defeat to the Red Wings that evaluations and decisions would follow the match. "With Michael, it's still a part of the process [where we have to decide] is it best for him to be here or is it best for him to be there in Hartford,''Tortorella said of the 20-year-old. "Emmy has been fighting it, but we have to realize that he's given us good minutes." Del Zotto was assigned to the AHL Whale on Jan. 3 before being recalled originally on Jan. 24 after Dan Girardi sustained a rib cage injury. The sophomore played two games, returned to the Whale"
Tortorella bids fond farewell to Del Zotto
January 26
New York Post
 
"Michael Del Zotto is returning to the Whale to ply his trade in the AHL following his two-game return to the Rangers as a replacement for the injured Dan Girardi, but not without encouraging words from coach John Tortorella. "Michael played well. You could see he was a little nervous, but I like the way he handled himself off the ice and he stayed within himself on the ice," Tortorella said after Del Zotto went minus two in 17:33 in the Rangers' 4-3 Garden defeat to the Panthers. "There were some mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, but he's going through the process. "I think it'll be good for him," he said. "Eventually he'll get it the right way." Girardi is expected to recover from the"
Del Zotto expects short stay
January 25
New York Post
 
"The recall was by necessity rather than on merit, as coach John Tortorella confirmed yesterday morning, but that can't change Michael Del Zotto's perspective on what he needs to do in order to force his way back onto the Rangers' roster on a permanent basis instead of as a temporary fill-in for the injured Dan Girardi. "I'm going to work hard as long as I'm here and not worry about what's out of my control," said Del Zotto, sent to the AHL Whale on Jan. 3 and summoned Saturday night when Girardi suffered rib cage muscle damage in Atlanta. "I don't know how long I'm going to be here." With the Rangers entering the All-Star break following tonight's Garden match against the Panthers, chances"
Matt Gilroy earns return to Rangers blueline rotation while Michael Del Zotto is sent to minors
January 5
New York Daily News
 
"Matt Gilroy certainly can commiserate with - and serve as an example for - Michael Del Zotto after the latter of the Rangers' two second-year defensemen was sent to AHL Connecticut to rediscover his confidence, his conditioning and his game this week. Barely one year ago, in December of 2009, Gilroy was the prospect shipped to the minors amid a rocky rookie campaign after signing a two-year deal as a collegiate free agent. The former Boston University star has been scratched in 16 of the Rangers' first 40 games this season, but worked diligently to usurp Del Zotto and regain his spot in the team's six-man blueline rotation. "Gilly deserves to play," coach John Tortorella said after"
Gut check time for demoted Del Zotto
January 4
New York Post
 columnist Larry Brooks
"These truths are evident as they apply to the Rangers' two second-year defensemen whose immediate futures took divergent paths yesterday. Twenty-year-old Michael Del Zotto's response to being sent down to the AHL Whale yesterday will be as critical to his future with the Rangers as 26-year-old Matt Gilroy's response to being named to a top-six spot will be to his future with the Blueshirts. Make no mistake. This move -- in which rookie Ryan McDonagh was promoted for the purpose of evaluation over the next few days of practice -- is primarily about Del Zotto, who seems to have gone off the rails a little bit after an all-rookie season in which he made an early splash that might have brought"
Rangers send Del Zotto to AHL affiliate Connecticut
January 4
New York Daily News
 
"Michael Del Zotto jumped from junior hockey in Ontario directly to the NHL last season, but the 20-year-old is going to wind up spending some time in the minors after all. The Rangers sent Del Zotto to Connecticut of the AHL Monday, with the hope that the defenseman who jumped right in as their power play quarterback as a rookie can rebuild his game and his confidence after being scratched from the lineup in four of the past five games. "This is a 20-year-old kid, and sometimes they don't see it there right now, but eventually he's going to realize this is good for him," John Tortorella said on a conference call Monday. "It's going to be good for him as a player and good for us as an"
Michael Del Zotto back in
December 12
Bergen Record
 
"Defenseman Michael Del Zotto played 22:45 with a shot and four blocked shots as he returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for the first time in his career. Steve Eminger, who hurt his back on Nick Foligno's third-period check in Thursday's win at Ottawa, missed his first game since Oct. 23. Del Zotto, 20, who spent his one-game absence dissecting the Rangers' power play in a report for coach John Tortorella, was also reinstated on the first power-play unit. "I thought I did a pretty good job tonight," said Del Zotto, whose power-play attempt at 2:45 of the second period hit the crossbar. Eminger, injured in Ottawa, went on the ice for the Rangers' optional morning skate,"
Del Zotto must showcase strengths
December 11
New York Post
 columnist Larry Brooks
"Jacques Lemaire scratched Scott Niedermayer for a pair of games in the final week of 1993-94, when the future Hall of Fame defenseman was finishing his sophomore season for a powerhouse New Jersey team, so there is no stain attached to Michael Del Zotto's benching by coach John Tortorella in Ottawa on Thursday. It is imperative, however, that when the Rangers' sophomore defenseman returns to the lineup, perhaps tonight against the Blue Jackets, that he play to his strength, which is moving the puck on a quick, crisp first pass on the breakout and then using his exceptional vision and passing ability inside the offensive zone. It is imperative, as well, that Tortorella return Del Zotto to"
Rangers' Del Zotto Struggles in Uneven Second Season
November 23
New York Times
 
"Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto was asked after a game this month how he had raised his plus-minus mark as high as plus-6 after a rookie season in which he had gone minus-20. Del Zotto looked pained. "I'd really rather not talk too much about it," he said, then knocked on wood. "I'm just trying to improve in my own end and play well defensively." Del Zotto, the Rangers' first-round draft pick in 2008, has had his problems defensively since, and he was down to minus-6 going into the Rangers' 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Monday night at Madison Square Garden."
Michael Del Zotto deals with growing pains
November 22
Bergen Record
 
"It was not so much Michael Del Zotto's goal that John Tortorella judged his performance on, nor was it the minus-2. The Rangers coach simply wanted to see how his 20-year-old defenseman reacted to one of his worst games. Both believe Del Zotto enters tonight's game against the Flames at Madison Square Garden off a bounce-back outing. "There's so many games," Del Zotto said. "One of the things I'm trying to work on and grow as a player is not to let one play, one game, affect the next." Del Zotto scored the second goal in the Rangers' 5-2 win at Minnesota Saturday and did not make any glaring turnovers. That contrasted with his season-worst minus-4 in Friday's 5-1 loss at Colorado. Overall,"
Impressive bounce-back game for Del Zotto
November 21
New York Post
 
"If this was a bounce-back night for the Rangers in trouncing the Wild 5-2 some 23 hours after they had been routed 5-1 in Denver, so too did it represent an individual turnaround for Michael Del Zotto who suffered through an odious minus-four game against the Avalanche. It might not be so obvious from the stat sheet that shows him as a minus-two, on both Minnesota goals in the final 7:12 of the match, one a short-handed score. But the sophomore defenseman was not only far more decisive in his decision-making, he scored a power play goal going up top from just below the left circle at 14:24 of the second to give his team a 2-0 cushion. "It couldn't have been a better situation for me having"
Rangers' rookie on mend
February 25
Bergen Record
 
"There's measurable progress as Michael Del Zotto recovers from a deep laceration to his chest that required 50 stitches and has left a long zipper from his left side to the middle just under his heart. "I can actually look at it without gagging," the rookie defenseman said Wednesday, though he added he "still shivers" every time he watches the YouTube clip of Evgeni Malkin's skate slicing through his jersey in the Rangers' 3-2 overtime win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 12. Del Zotto also has regained almost a full range of motion with his left arm, whereas he initially couldn't lift it past his shoulder. Still, he was not on the ice as the Rangers not participating in the Olympics resumed practice"
Olympic break helps banged-up Del Zotto
February 25
New York Post
 
"At any other point in the season, Michael Del Zotto probably would have missed as many as six or seven games with the chest laceration he sustained in Pittsburgh on Feb. 12 when he landed on Evgeni Malkin's skate. But the winter recess that commenced following the Blueshirts' Garden victory over the Lightning two days later arrived just at the right time for the 19-year-old defenseman, who will not be cleared to skate until his stitches are removed Friday or Saturday. Del Zotto thus did not join his teammates on the ice at the practice rink yesterday for their first Olympic-break workout. The best-case scenario is that Del Zotto, who needed 51 stitches to close the wound, will miss only"
Michael Del Zotto still on mend after suffering cut on rib cage on Feb. 12
February 25
New York Daily News
 
"American hockey fans would just as soon see Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan take their time in rejoining the Rangers. Blueshirts fans would prefer to see Michael Del Zotto get back a little sooner. While the United States was topping Switzerland in Vancouver to advance to the Olympic semifinals Wednesday, the rest of the Rangers reconvened in Greenburgh for the first practice of what amounts to a minicamp before their playoff chase resumes on Tuesday in Ottawa. Del Zotto was the lone Ranger looking on from the other side of the boards, still healing from the 50 stitches he received after being cut around his left rib cage on Feb. 12 in Pittsburgh. The 19-year-old rookie defenseman hasn't"
Michael Del Zotto's Olympic break starts early for Rangers
February 14
New York Daily News
 
"If Michael Del Zotto doesn't lace up a hockey skate - doesn't see a hockey skate - until 10 days from now, it'll probably be too soon. Both Del Zotto and Marian Gaborik will sit out the Rangers' pre-Olympic finale this afternoon at the Garden against the Tampa Bay Lightning, each felled by cuts from skate blades suffered within four days apart. The two required a combined 71 stitches to close their frightening and very bloody cuts, Del Zotto receiving 50 of those alarmingly close to his heart after Evgeni Malkin's skate sliced him in the opening minutes of Friday's Ranger victory in Pittsburgh. So the 19-year-old rookie blueliner - who couldn't bear to look at the cut on Friday night, and"
Rangers already without Gaborik, lose Del Zotto
February 13
New York Daily News
 
"Michael Del Zotto was cut so badly that he couldn't bring himself to look at the gash. Marian Gaborik had a wound of his own that simply wouldn't allow him to play. Sidney Crosby was scoring and that Igloo crowd was growing only louder. But in their farewell to a rink that has been a Blueshirt house of horrors over the years, the Rangers just kept on improvising answers and refusing to step backward, from Chris Drury's fight to the play of their shorthanded defense corps - right down to Olli Jokinen's laser-beam wrist shot 1:02 into OT that gave them a desperately needed 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins last night and the last laugh at the Igloo. It was only the Rangers' third"
Rangers hope to spark slumping power play with rookie Michael Del Zotto
November 20
New York Daily News
 
"The New York Rangers hope Michael Del Zotto can put the puck in the net when the Blueshirts are on the power play. This isn't last season, when the Rangers' power play couldn't get out of its own way, and it isn't the seasons before that in which the Garden crowd would slap its collective head every time Michal Rozsival would pass up an open look to defer to Jaromir Jagr. But the principle, and the mantra, are the same: Shoot the puck, Michael. Now that this year's Ranger power play has eased back to Earth following a blistering start to the season, John Tortorella believes one of the answers to its struggles may lie in the 19-year-old rookie who took over the quarterback duties in his NHL"