Update: Flyers sign Del Zotto

[hf101]

Here is a reference to Del Zotto's Advanced Stats...  Timmo will be missed.

and yeah, it is my new favorite reference site.  

 

http://www.extraskater.com/players/dashboard?players=134,16,4,1001,17,478,223,169,5

 

http://www.extraskater.com/player/134/michael-del-zotto

[jammer2]

@hf101  They have a really nice advanced stat section for the CHL, was just looking through that, tons and tons of stats!

[hf101]

@hf101  They have a really nice advanced stat section for the CHL, was just looking through that, tons and tons of stats!

 

I remember when NHL numbers was the place to get stats, but this site is cool.  Best part about it is being able to make your own comparison charts.  

[Irishjim]

My guess here is: 

 

Streit - McDonald

Coburn - Schenn

Del Zotto - Grossman

sorry but i don't like skates of stone with coburn..schenn started to turn things around with macdonald..i'd start the season that way

Edited August 6, 2014 by Irishjim

[flyercanuck]

 Good signing - Del Zotto can either earn a new contract or find himself a step closer to working outside the NHL.

 

 It's hard to find a replacement when a defenceman goes down. Nobody's lining up to help you out as they're hard enough to come by in the first place. This guy was a bright up and comer a few years ago. So there's that. But when the leagues Dman factory doesn't want you after trading some decent value to get you that tells me you've fallen a long way.  

 

 When you're a "powerplay qb" and you had a grand total of 2 points more than Grossmann...you're not a very good one. In MDZs defence, the Preds suck at forward. 

[BobbyClarkeFan16]

I was reading that Vigneault actually liked Del Zotto and that he tried to find ways to get him into the Rangers lineup, but the only spot that Vigneault had for Del Zotto was the right side and Del Zotto admitted that he wasn't any good on the right side. It wasn't long after that that Vigneault started playing Del Zotto less and less until the move to the Preds was made. By the time Del Zotto got to the Preds, his confidence and game was shot. Reading Berube's comments, it seems like he's genuinely happy to have Del Zotto in the fold and that there's a plan in place on how to use MDZ. I think Del Zotto is going to have a big bounce back year and that gut feeling says Gord Murphy is really going to help him simplify the defensive side of his game. I said on another board that Del Zotto will probably good for about 35 points, but if he managed to get on the number 1 power play unit with Streit, I think MDZ very easily hits the 40 point mark and could make a push at 50.

[J0e Th0rnton]

  I've been harping on this guy more than anyone on the site, but honestly, for the length and price AND considering Kimo is out indefinately with the blood clot situation, this is a solid move. I don't think the Flyers had anyone who could potentially step in and provide even close to the skill set that Kimo provides. Hagg is proabably the only one, and it's to soon to put that kind of pressure on him, that would be unfair. So....I'm ok with this, it makes sense. If he flops, it's low risk for one year. He could potentially turn this around and become very useful also....nice risk/reward ratio for us.

 

  Only on the net can you get real life updates on how he looks and work out times etc....hilarious. Thanks for that BobbyCF.

 

 Another bright spot, all the people itching to get on MacDonald may automatically have a new whipping boy, so there is that....LOL!

Agreed.

 

Hope he pans out for you guys.

[OH1FlyersFan]

 Because he can run a top pp....that particular skill set is hard to find, IMPOSSIBLE at 1.3 mill per year, so Hexy actually pulled off a nice little fly by the seat of your pants type of thing. He reacted quickly and found a replacement for Kimo, very nice move by Hexy.

Nice to see this signing without Homer's obligatory 10 years and NTC.

[mojo1917]

Wow go on vacation and the wheels come off ...

 

This situation changes the complexion of our d-corps, makes us faster anyway.

Maybe for a change the Flyers are the "change of scenery " location where a player straightens his game out .

Happened with Mason to a degree maybe it happens here too.  The guy is young is a very good skater, has a nice shot ;if we can keep him on the left side maybe he works out.   I think he will be unpopular because he's not a very physical player ala Matt Carle, who news flash, could actually play defense and would win a race to the corner, lugged the puck all the damn time,  there are guys that i put out on the defensive zone face off at the end of the game before both MC and MDZ but I think this may change the look of our team for the better. no disrespect the the great viking warrior, but he has lost more than a step.

[J0e Th0rnton]

 Because he can run a top pp....that particular skill set is hard to find, IMPOSSIBLE at 1.3 mill per year, so Hexy actually pulled off a nice little fly by the seat of your pants type of thing. He reacted quickly and found a replacement for Kimo, very nice move by Hexy.

He can?

Everything I saw tells me he is not a PP guy.

 

When he ran the Rags PP, he had 14 PP points and they had a 15% PP and were 23rd in the league

[radoran]

He can?

Everything I saw tells me he is not a PP guy

Wait, you mean Andrew MacDonald?

[AJgoal]

Wait, you mean Andrew MacDonald?

 

I doubt it. MacDonald didn't play for the Rangers.

[radoran]

I doubt it. MacDonald didn't play for the Rangers.

Respect the ninja...

And the edit removing the Rangers

That said, one of the rationales advanced for the length and cost of MacD was his "pp qb" skills in NY.

Which were about as impressive as Del Zotto's in NY.

Maybe less so.

I've "agreed with half a dozen or more posts in this thread. Del zotto Is low risk, high reward potential.

But if MacD had the skills his advocates alleged in justifying his contract, they didn't need to "replace Timonen"

And jammer was expecting it anyway :-)

[OccamsRazor]

Respect the ninja...

And the edit removing the Rangers

That said, one of the rationales advanced for the length and cost of MacD was his "pp qb" skills in NY.

Which were about as impressive as Del Zotto's in NY.

Maybe less so.

I've "agreed with half a dozen or more posts in this thread. Del zotto Is low risk, high reward potential.

But if MacD had the skills his advocates alleged in justifying his contract, they didn't need to "replace Timonen"

And jammer was expecting it anyway :-)

And worst case scenario you waive him to the Phantoms and just lose 400K....that is worth the gamble in short term.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

MDZ on the Flyers is a VERY good move.

 

The Flyers need some solid, stout defense....they need guys who can manage coverage when facing some of the leagues best forwards...and they need guys who can make instant smart decisions in their own end under pressure.

MDZ fits almost NONE of those criteria.

 

So why is he a good move IMO?

 

Simply because, the Flyers aren't about to turn their defense around overnight given the current crop of D-men, they may as well try to play more on the offensive side on the ice (which they are quite capable of doing) and that plays right into the strengths of a guy like Del Zotto.

At his best, he really is like having a 4th forward on the ice.

 

Steve Mason and/or Ray Emery are already going to see lots of chances come back their way, so if you are the Flyers, why NOT take a chance on a guy who could very well help the team play more on the opposing side of the ice, who could possibly help the PP be more dominant, and thus keeping Mason and Emery's workload in stopping high quality scoring chances to a minimum if most of the play is going on about 200 ft away.

 

And from all the reports I have read, and some of the stuff you guys have been saying here about MDZ, he really has taken his personal fitness to heart now, and knows he may be running out of chances to stay in the NHL.

When motivated like that, and maintaining good fitness habits, a player of his skillset can turn things around positively for a team very quickly.

 

Philly really has nothing to lose here.

If he works out for both franchise and player, an extension would surely be offered.

If not, then as was mentioned already, it's a 'one n done', the Flyers move on and continue their search for a top puck moving D-man while rebuilding the rest of the defense, and MDZ can move on to who-knows-where.

 

I honestly can't see how this can go wrong for the Flyers....classic case of nothing to lose, everything to gain.

[radoran]

And worst case scenario you waive him to the Phantoms and just lose 400K....that is worth the gamble in short term.

More than worth the gamble. It's the type of move they need more of.

In Hexy We Trust

[OccamsRazor]

More than worth the gamble. It's the type of move they need more of.

In Hexy We Trust

Plus they want to carry the puck into the Ozone now and get away from dumping it so this works more to his skillset as well. So that and he is working for a contract to works in the Flyers favor.

[Adamflyers]

Love this signing.  Not because I am 100% sure that DZ will pan out here, but because it is a 1 year deal with a low cap hit and devoid of any NMC's.  My mind is still having trouble understanding deals like this!  Where is the 5 year 20 Million with a NMC????  I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone!

 

As others have said, this is a low risk deal with the potential for high rewards.  As others have suggested, his issues may have been system related in the past,  Let's see how he does under Berube.

 

Nice move by Hexy!

[JackStraw]

When he ran the Rags PP, he had 14 PP points and they had a 15% PP and were 23rd in the league

 

Not necessarily trying to defend MDZ here, I really can't comment on his PP skills, but I don't remember the Rangers having much scoring punch in any situation in recent years.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Not necessarily trying to defend MDZ here, I really can't comment on his PP skills, but I don't remember the Rangers having much scoring punch in any situation in recent years.

 

Agreed on that part.

MDZ was most likely just a part of what was wrong with the NY PP over the last few seasons. Honestly, the Rangers just simply haven't had the right mix of personnel to run a good PP. 

They are a team still transitioning from Coach Tortorella's defensive style to Coach Vigneault's more offensive style, and along with that will come personnel changes to suit that. MDZ may or may not have fit in with what the Rangers are trying to move towards, but apparently, they didn't want to continue to see if he would fit in or not.

 

This is why the Flyers may have found lightning in a bottle so to speak with Del Zotto. Philly has always looked to be more offense than defense and over the years, have usually sported a decent to good PP. Perhaps with that set up, a guy like Del Zotto, right out of the gate, can feel comfortable in it.

His SKILL SET certainly lends itself to being a PP specialist, and like everything else, if you fit him in the right situation, and he is properly motivated/prepared, I don't see why he wouldn't be able to thrive and even quarterback a PP in Philly.

[Samifan]

If this was last Summer, Homer would have signed him for $5 million with a full NMC. Good signing by Hexy gives the player a chance to earn a better deal down the road if he performs.

[murraycraven]

If this was last Summer, Homer would have signed him for $5 million with a full NMC. Good signing by Hexy gives the player a chance to earn a better deal down the road if he performs.

 

Wait, are we talking about MacD?   (minus the NMC)...

 

It is a shame about Kimmo b/c reagrdless of age he is still one of our better (the best?) defenseman on this Team.   Can play in all situations.  While DZ might pan out the defense is worse w/out Kimmo in the lineup and this defense is very suspect as is...   At least DZ can play the PP...  

Edited August 6, 2014 by murraycraven

[Samifan]

If Hextall keeps making theses sound fiscal decisions it may finally push Snider over the edge Fresh Perspective Warning Ed: No more BS contracts!

[canoli]

Hextall made a good move grabbing DZ - the Flyers needed somebody experienced, and quick. I always liked DZ with the Rangers under Torts but I guess he just didn't work out under AV. Who knows what the actual rap on the guy was - maybe it's true he was getting a big head. But after last season and the FA snub I highly doubt "attitude" will be a problem (at least until he goes a few months racking up points again lol).

 

But I'm glad the Flyers got him for a year, it works out perfect for both parties if he plays great - and I think he will.

[pilldoc]

Hextall made a good move grabbing DZ - the Flyers needed somebody experienced, and quick. I always liked DZ with the Rangers under Torts but I guess he just didn't work out under AV. Who knows what the actual rap on the guy was - maybe it's true he was getting a big head. But after last season and the FA snub I highly doubt "attitude" will be a problem (at least until he goes a few months racking up points again lol).

 

But I'm glad the Flyers got him for a year, it works out perfect for both parties if he plays great - and I think he will.

 

I'm willing to give him a clean slate and start fresh......