Unhappy with his overall performance this season, the New York Rangers decided to give Michael Del Zotto some development time down in the minors, sending him down to Connecticut of the AHL for an undetermined amount of time to help work on his game. Del Zotto has been a healthy scratch for a number of games recently and the Rangers have been unable to fit him back into the line-up, likely unsure how he would help the team play out of a small funk that they are in. Ryan McDonagh has been called up to be the team's extra defenseman in Del Zotto's place for the time being.
Del Zotto's offensive numbers are nowhere near the high level he set for himself as a rookie in the 2010 season, having only 2 goals and 7 assists in his first 35 games this season, a scoring pace nearly half as good as it was a season ago. You may want to attribute this slump to his sophomore season, but the Rangers are being a little more proactive about his development, giving the second-year defender a chance to regain his confidence in the minors before making a return.
This bit of news also shouldn't sit well with Larry D. in the draft, who also likely lost the services of Rick DiPietro on Monday night. Larry was likely expecting some pretty big things from Del Zotto, taking him in the 9th round, 171st overall. It's a disappointing turn for Larry, who is only 30 points out of the money with half the season to go.Link to the Injury/News Page
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