At one point, Michael Del Zotto was one of the up and coming defenceman in the NHL. Now, the 29-year-old is about to enter his eleventh season in the NHL and is merely just a depth defender.
Although his best days are behind him, Del Zotto still can be a valuable contributor on an NHL club, which is why the Ducks inked him to a one-year contract in early July.
The 2019-20 season was the craziest season of his career, starting off with the rebuilding Vancouver Canucks before being sent to Southern California to help out a battered Ducks blueline. Then, at the trade deadline, Del Zotto was sent to St. Louis to round out their defensive core before winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
The Stouffville, Ontario native was technically a Black Ace for the Playoffs, meaning he won't get his name engraved on the cup, but still got to spend a nice summer day with hockey's most pinnacle prize.
On Tuesday, Del Zotto joined Dan O'Toole on the Jay and Dan podcast to recap his crazy year, all the summer celebrations and shenanigans he got up to, the state of the NHL, playoff hockey, being a team DJ, and dished out a little dirt on some of his favourite teammates from over the years.
From chirping John Tavares' baseball throw to having Jay Bouwmeester telling him to cool it on his loud EDM music, Del Zotto provides a ton of interesting tidbits, stories and memories from his career so far during his stops in New York, Philadelphia, Nashville, Vancouver, Anaheim and St. Louis.
The Ducks re-signed Del Zotto insurance on the backend when they inked him to a one-year deal worth $750,000 back on July 11th.
The 20th overall pick in the 2008 draft by the Rangers only dressed in 42 games last season, where he frequented the press box as a healthy scratch.
He could start in the NHL or down in San Diego with the Gulls -- the Ducks AHL affiliate -- considering he's on a one-way contract, but wherever he plays, he'll provide that veteran presence that helps build camaraderie on teams and a level of trust for Dallas Eakins and the Ducks coaching staff on such a low-risk contract.
