Del Zotto Seeking Contract Worth More Than $3 Million Per
Katie Strang at ESPN.com reports that Michael Del Zotto was previously seeking a multiyear deal for more than $3 million a year. Strang adds that it is not immediately clear if that stance has softened given the time-sensitive situation and Del Zotto's lack of leverage.
Here's Del Zotto on getting a deal done...
"I'm hoping to get something done as soon as possible," Del Zotto said. "I know my agents and Glen (Sather) are talking and I expect that they'll try to get a deal that's fair to me and the team.
"It's not a normal circumstance obviously with half the season gone already but it's the same situation as before. We're just trying to get a deal that's fair for both sides," Del Zotto added. "I know I'm ready to play as soon as possible."
Del Zotto was a participant in the Rangers optional practice yesterday, but said it had nothing to do with his confidence that a deal will get done.
...more than $3 million per?!?!?!?! More than $3 million per?!?!?!?!?! Is this guy out of his mind? To be fair, that was his asking price before the lockout and his demands will likely go down due to the reasons Strang mentioned above. I can see this getting done for around $2.5 million per, which I still think is too much.
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Gravey is right on. When you look at Staal and Girardi both getting north of $3 mil per, after three years with the team, when neither of them made the impact MDZ did, or was as young as MDZ, it's tough to see the kid as greedy is he just wants $3 mil.
If we're NOT willing to commit $3 mil to him, sell high on this kid. An offer sheet of anything up to $3.3 only costs the offering team a 2nd rd pick.
Everyone likes to dump on MDZ and he did suck in the playoffs, but his asking price is not unrealistic. He was 5th on the Rangers in scoring last season, # 1 for defensemen; he was in the top 20 of the NHL for defense scoring; he was in the top 15 of the NHL for +/- (even though it's bogus stat, it still means something to the teams)l and yet he was tied for the 162nd highest salary in the NHL ($875K), and he's 22 (youngest D on the team). I think it's ludicrous to give up on a 22 year old kid that has the talent MDZ has shown. If they can sign him for multiple years at $2.5M, they should do it now. This kid is the offensive defenseman the Rangers have not had since #2 was shipped out. He just needs some more time to mature. Everyone knows it takes defensemen longer to mature.
@gravey94 I agree. We can't give up on him and we won't. But by the same token at this point in career he's not worth 3 mil. I hate to beat a dead horse but Kris Letang is 25 he's at 3.whatever and I know this is sacreligious but by the end of his career he will be the Penguins Brian Leetch. So lets stop giving our athletes the golden carrot before they deserve it. I hope Sather locks him up for 3 years at a 2.25/2.3 number and let this kid show us what he's got.
@AG_Blue Sorry to ruin a good ol' fashioned lynching with logic AG...LOL!!
SathVDanzig, Letang makes $3.5M for this and next year and then I'm sure he'll get a huge bump. Just to compare, MDZ has 89 points in his 1st 204 games, Letang had 79 points in his first 217 games. Letang got his $3.5M per year deal after his 3rd season. His career is like a mirror image of MDZ's, just 2 years later. If Letang is the comparison, then MDZ gets $3M. BTW, Leetch had 141 points after his first 157 games. Letang may be the Pens Reggie Leach, but he's no Brian Leetch...LOL!!!
@AnnoyingJoe @Scott_from_Jersey @GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @gravey94 @AG_Blue Dominating, no. If he was dominating he'd be looking for $6M per. To me $3M per year is a pretty good deal for a 2nd pair defenseman with the offensive skills MDZ has, which (by the way) nobody else at the NHL or AHL level has in the Rangers organization. Rangers are very thin on offense from defensemen. Hell, if they give him a $9M contract for 3 years and he tanks, then use the 2nd buy-out on him and be done with it.
@Scott_from_Jersey @GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @AG_Blue Offensive defensemen are normally lacking on the D part early in their careers. Not that Del Zotto is or ever will be near these, but Leetch, Coffee, Housley, Niedermeyer, etc. were all pretty piss poor in their own ends when they started. Eventually they learned to play both sides. If MDZ was 25, I would agree. Given he's 22, I don't think it would be terrible to give him a 3 year deal to see exactly what he will be. By no means is $3M top pair money. You really think Staal, Girardi, and McDonagh are going to be making $3M when their contracts are up? If they do, then Sather is a god! As far as the PP, Shea Weber had 10 goals and 12 assists last year. MDZ had 1 goal and 13 assists for a pretty damn anemic PP. You may not like the stats, but they just don't support the argument that MDZ is a bust.
@Scott_from_Jersey @GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @gravey94 @AG_Blue PLEASE leave Leetch out of this conversation. I think the stats are misleading. This is how I look at it; compiling stats is one thing, but was there ever really any time where Del Zotto dominated a game? a period? A shift, even? And in the playoffs? A non-factor. And Scotts right about his defense. He's too small and he ain't getting any bigger. His ceiling is rapidly approaching.
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@GLENsatherVSglennDANZIG @gravey94 @AG_Blue
What about the fact that he can't play defense? Are we going to overlook that because of his solid-yet-unspectacular offensive production? Lets not forget the guy score ONE power play goal last before we canonize him as our PP savior. Offensively he is above average -- not a stud. Defensively he is a liability and when the games count most he is at his worst. For the money we can find a PP QB that doesn't hurt us at the other end. He'll never flourish under torts and isn't worth 2.5 per.
Lets see what our PP looks like running it thru Richards with Nash in front before we give MDZ top pair $
@gravey94 @AG_Blue haha if I didn't know better I'd say these stats are fake. This is actually pretty illuminating. But the fact remains that we need all the cap space we can get. Ray Shero (sp?) is going to have a hard time managing the cap when it drops and he has to give Letang a bump and re-up Geno. I just want a deal that's not going to hurt us down the road when we have other youths needing raises.
As I said yesterday in a previous post, Del Zotto is a below average NHL defenseman. Asking for 3 mil on top of it?!?! Are you nuts? I consider him, as Joe mentioned, to be the 5th defensman on this roster. He's looking for top pair money. Rangers have too much talent they're going to need to bring back to even let MDZ sniff that kind of payday. Really hope they part ways with that ass-clown.
He is young and foolish. He will come to terms. He had a great season last year. OK he made some mistakes but he also made some major plays for us. People common he is a rookie give him some props.
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Enough of him already. He's gonna come off that playoff performance and have the stones to ask for Letang money? Dude, Stralman makes you potentially a fifth Defenseman. I think McDs emergence has killed MDZ and exposed his general mediocrity and weak mental makeup. wouldn't mind seeing him AND his shitty twitter account take a walk.
@AnnoyingJoe -- Seriously. Where does he get off? He hasn't even done anything yet. His agent could ruin this for him. He should take a half mil and be happy to be a Ranger.
Del Zotto you have to start playing like a big boy to get the big boy money. Take the 2 mill a year and be happy that you are playing for the Rangers.
Kris Letang makes 3mil+. If DZ could look Sather in the face and honestly say he's as good as Letang then...then...I don't know. 3 plus is crazy for DZ. did he see what happened to Dubinsky? The pressure of that contract KILLED him. DZ needs to stay in his lane sign a 2 mil plus contract and show over the next 3 years that he deserves 3 or 4 mil.
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For that price Del Zotto can take a walk. He shouldnt get any more than $2 million per. Maybe give him a $500,000 bonus if he is able to actually hit the net this year.
@ATCRyan -- I'm with you, man. The only thing he's proven is that he's got a lot of people to believe in potential that he hasn't quite lived up to. We have a bunch of new contracts to sign in the next couple years for people who have shown up as advertised. If DZ gets any more than 2mil, he's taking money away from better players.
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the time-sensitive situation and Del Zotto's lack of leverage, but also the lowering cap next year. Do you want to be on the Rangers or not?
I'd Love to see more guys show that they are just happy t be with their team
... kinda like Fedotenko did, right?
