Rumor: Flyers will not bring back Michael Del Zotto or Nick Schultz

[BrindamoursNose]

How do Philly fans think MDZ would play with Brodie on the 2nd pair? Brodie honestly plays better on the right side, and he's not physical himself, would MDZ be okay as a #4/5 dman on a top 3 heavy team?

MDZ is a good #4 D-Man for sure.

He's not perfect, but he's good. Anyone who says to stay away (regardless of contract) is just being sour.

 

[Morgs]

I'd love MDZ on the Leafs. Bottom pairing, lots of ozs.

Can play top-4 if needed.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

I wouldn't mind him as a depth option for the Habs if he comes cheap and we end up moving Beaulieu or Emelin. He's gotta be better than Nesterov, but I didn't really watch him this season.

 

[Debrincat93]

id give MDZ a shot in Detroit. Low contract hit, low risk-moderate reward.

Cant hurt, thats if we have room.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Del Zotto is a decent #5 IMO (ideally on the 3rd pair, but can be used on the 2nd pairing as well). Up and down career so far, but he's going to be 27 yrs old and i feel like his best hockey is still ahead of him.

Schultz will stick around, someone will sign him as a depth d-man. Honestly in my opinion he's still better than some of the #7 d-men we see around the league. Potential option for contending teams if they need someone with experience for cheap.

 

[Tripod]

Is Del Zotto's big problem limited/low hockey IQ/on-ice vision? He seems to have the physical tools to be a consistent top four guy in the NHL, but always seems to fall short.

How do Philly fans think MDZ would play with Brodie on the 2nd pair? Brodie honestly plays better on the right side, and he's not physical himself, would MDZ be okay as a #4/5 dman on a top 3 heavy team?

It all depends what MDZ shows up.

As others said, in the 3 years in Philly, he had a good offensive year, a good defensive year, then this year waful until about the last month.

Last year, he and Gudas faced top lines and held their own. This year, the 1st pair was Provy and AMac(yuck) because MDZ was so bad. And he was bad enough to be scratched, and rightly so, while AMac, Manning and Streit played. Let that set in.

I wish him well as he can help a team when playing well. It won't shock me to see him have a good year next year. But with:

Provy
Ghost
Morin
Sanheim
Hagg
AMac
Manning
.....as all LHD, MDZ was not needed anymore.

 

[YennoItFlames]

MDZ is a good #4 D-Man for sure.

He's not perfect, but he's good. Anyone who says to stay away (regardless of contract) is just being sour.

Well I'm thinking maybe 1-3 years between 1.3M-1.5M is he worth that? Like I'd do 4M split in 3 years? Or a 1/1.5M show me contract ? I honestly want someone who's decent at defending paired with Brodie, who can play the left side cause Brodie is better on the right, so you think he'd play well with a guy like Brodie?

 

[Tripod]

Well I'm thinking maybe 1-3 years between 1.3M-1.5M is he worth that? Like I'd do 4M split in 3 years? Or a 1/1.5M show me contract ? I honestly want someone who's decent at defending paired with Brodie, who can play the left side cause Brodie is better on the right, so you think he'd play well with a guy like Brodie?

He made 1.3 million 3 years ago then 3.875 the last 2 years. He will likely get 3-4 million on a 1-2 year deal.

 

[YennoItFlames]

He made 1.3 million 3 years ago then 3.875 the last 2 years. He will likely get 3-4 million on a 1-2 year deal.

I've seen more bad comments about him than good comments, honestly if you guys say he's a #5/6 guy, who's going to pay him more than 2M?

 

[boredmale]

Given that there will be 7 more defensemen spots in the NHL next season, great time to be a UFA

 

[Tripod]

I've seen more bad comments about him than good comments, honestly if you guys say he's a #5/6 guy, who's going to pay him more than 2M?

Just watch. He is still one of the top 10 UFA dmen avalable this year. And as I said, he had 2 good years and 1 bad in Philly. He was worth the money in his good years.

All it takes is 1 team to want to add him.

Also because teams have seen when he plays well, he can be a good midle pairing guy. And with 132 Dmen making 2 million or more, he will too.

 

[izzy]

Lol MDZ would love to go hang out in dallas with seguin but i doubt they'd want him corrupting tyler in dallas

anywho maybe blues go for him since they dont have a single left handed dman who can pass the puck unless Dunn is NHL ready next year

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I don't think he's going to get much commitment in his next contract. He was nearly out of the league a few years ago when his played dipped. He'll get a job again but I don't think anybody is investing a lot into him as he's been so up & down over his career to this point. He very well could get a deal like Kris Russell got this past summer give or take some on the term & money.

 

[izzy]

I've seen more bad comments about him than good comments, honestly if you guys say he's a #5/6 guy, who's going to pay him more than 2M?

most teams #5s make a decent amount more than 2M. Especially when they are signed as somewhat of a top UFA

 

[bossram]

Ideally he's someone that Detroit goes after. He should take the role of Kronwall as I suspect he'll be LTIR soon and the only LHD that would be ahead of him would be DeKeyser. Having MDZ on the 2nd pairing isn't awful and he'd act as a decent stop gap and should be able to bring back something similar to what Smith got us this year.

DeKeyser-Green
MDZ-Jensen
Ouellet-Ericsson
Russo

It's still an awful defence but it shows just how much of a help MDZ would be to the Wings defence.

FWIW, MDZ is probably an upgrade to the Canucks blueline too

 

[Unspecified]

Del Zotto, Shattenkirk and Bishop to Dallas, book it!

 

[Rebels57]

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/04/12/flyers-parting-ways-with-del-zotto-schultz/

I'm a little surprised at Del Zotto, he should have some offers elsewhere.

No surprise there. Del Zotto had a terrible 16-17 up until about the last month, and we have Sanheim, Morin and Hagg all NHL ready to join Provorov, Gudas, and Ghost.

He can still play and should get offers, but it was time to move on from Philadelphia.

 

[Hockeypete49]

Looking forward to new blood on the backend and pleased with Ron's decision. I will leave it at that.

 

[boredmale]

Del Zotto, Shattenkirk and Bishop to Dallas, book it!

My money is Shattenkirk one way or another ending up on the Rangers

 

[Curufinwe]

No room for MDZ here as a left-side only guy.

 

[BLNY]

Paired with a strong stay-at-home defender, I agree that MDZ could be a strong bargain pick up.

 

[FatTugboatFlahr]

He's an NHL defenseman. The Flyers having multiple prospects ready to do his job for a fraction of his cap essentially makes him expendable for us.

His issue is mediocre IQ, inconsistent defense while not exactly being great offensively. Not the best PP QB either. I realize that seems pretty negative but if you play him as a #4 or #5 he should be able to coexist effectively.

 

[Rebels57]

He's an NHL defenseman. The Flyers having multiple prospects ready to do his job for a fraction of his cap essentially makes him expendable for us.

His issue is mediocre IQ, inconsistent defense while not exactly being great offensively. Not the best PP QB either. I realize that seems pretty negative but if you play him as a #4 or #5 he should be able to coexist effectively.

He produces offense at a decent rate 5v5, but he sucks on the PP. Defensively, if he can play like did last season and the last month of this season, he is a capable 4/5 defensemen.

 

[aemoreira1981]

Not only them but they should dump MacDonald too. There's plenty of bad contracts in the NHL, Maybe they can trade bad contracts with another team and hope it works out for both parties.

As of now, I can see the Flyers going into next year with hopes of Hagg and Morin being on the roster and signing a FA veteran defenseman.

If AMac isn't taken in expansion, I would expect him to be bought out. I believe he has 2 seasons left on his deal?

 

[Rebels57]

If AMac isn't taken in expansion, I would expect him to be bought out. I believe he has 2 seasons left on his deal?

Sadly, he has 3 seasons left with a $5 million cap hit.

If we buy him out, we are saving a over $4 million in cap space the first 3 years, but are then on the hook for $1.833 for an additional 3 years.

My guess is, they try to trade him with retention or with an asset to a cap floor team, and if they cannot, they buy him out the summer of 2018 with Phillipe Myers ready to be promoted.

2018-2019 Flyers Defense should be..

• Ivan Provorov (3rd year, 22 years old)
• Shayne Gostisbehere (4th year, 25 years old)
• Travis Sanheim (2nd year, 23 years old)
• Phillipe Myers (1st year, 22 years old)
• Samuel Morin (2nd year, 23 years old)
• Robert Hagg (2nd year, 24 years old)
• Radko Gudas (6th year, 28 years old)

No room or need for MacDonald.