There have been many rumblings of late that 23 year old defenseman Michael Del Zotto is being shopped by the New York Rangers.
As such, there have been a few teams whose names have come up in terms of being potentially interested, and the Calgary Flames were one of said teams.
Currently struggling to get ice time on the Rangers roster logging the 5th most minutes in terms of defensemen, it appears that the young defender may need a change of scenery, or coaching staff.
“I have been told he is a much better player,… Alain Vigneault said.“I’m hoping that the next time we talk about Michael,… Vigneault said, “I’ll tell you, ‘Yes, I’ve seen him skate, beat the forecheck, join the rush, get shots through, that’s why he’s playing regularly and that’s why his minutes are higher than they were.’…
Not to try and diminish the value of a player like Del Zotto, but as a player known for his strong skating and offensive abilities, he has but 4pts in 16 games played so far this year – something the coach says will need to improve if he’s going to be reinserted into the lineup on a full time basis.
That said, it appears that the league has taken notice of his struggling efforts to get ice time with the Rangers and have become interested in acquiring the young defender for their own roster. In fact, according to Darren Dreger, “at least five or six teams have inquired about trade scenarios… involving Del Zotto, which begs the question – What is he worth and who is likely to make a pitch for him?
To break it down in terms of the Calgary Flames, I am not sure that there would be a ton of interest given the type of defenders which the team currently ices. With guys like TJ Brodie, Kris Russell, and Mark Cundari all being offensive minded defenders who are not overly large, it seems to me that acquiring another would be somewhat counterintuitive. While not exactly small, Michael is listed as 6’0, 195lbs which would rank him 4th on the Flames current defensive roster in terms of size.
That said, Del Zotto is a very promising young defender and at the age of 23 years old, he would be part of the Flames rebuild if he were to be acquired. The type(s) of pieces which the Flames would be required to move in order to obtain such a player are likely going to be high, but a team who is looking to move older players in exchange for younger ones just so happens to have a few “vets… who could be of interest to New York.
As the Rangers are not likely overly interested in acquiring a vet from the Flames for one of their youngest NHL ready players, the Flames would need to throw in a young player or two of their own. If that were to be the case, I would hope that one of their own young offensive Dmen would be moved, as an attempt to avoid a logjam in said area. Outside of that, it would be a tricky proposal and or transaction for the Flames given their current team status and need to stockpile youth without giving much away.
Cue Brian Burke. One of the positive attributes of bringing in a guy like Burke is his success rate when it comes to trades. While he has made a few mistakes like any other GM has made, the moves which he has been involved in while a part of the Calgary organization have been quite good.
On top of said rumours regarding Del Zotto, Eklund has recently stated that the Flames may have interest in rookie defenseman Jake Gardiner of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Very similar to Del Zotto in terms of their style of play and age, Gardiner would also require a hefty payment from the Flames as the defender is currently logging 19:51 of average ice time, although has also only registered 4pts so far this year.
What do you think? Should the Flames make a pitch for Del Zotto or Jake Gardiner if they are in fact available, and if so what would you be willing to part with?
Thanks for reading!