The Philadelphia Flyers were the latest team to avoid a potential arbitration hearing when they agreed to terms with defenseman Michael Del Zotto on a multi-year contract extension on Thursday afternoon.
The team did not release the terms of the contract, but it is reportedly a two-year deal that will pay Del Zotto a total $7.75 million. That comes out to a salary cap hit of $3.875 million per year. He would have been eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2015-16 season, so this contract also buys up one year of his UFA years.
Del Zotto, 25, appeared in 68 games for the Flyers in 2014-15, scoring 10 goals to go with 22 assists. His point total was second among all Flyers defenseman, trailing only the 52 that Mark Streit had. The Flyers signed Del Zotto a one-year contract in August shortly after it was revealed that veteran Kimmo Timonen would not be available for most of the season due to a blood clot issue.
Originally a first-round draft pick (No. 20 overall) by the New York Rangers in 2008, Del Zotto had a promising start to his career offensively, recording at least 37 points two different times before his age 22 season in the league. But consistency, especially when it came to his play in the defensive zone, has been a problem for him over the years and his career seemed to regress a bit in recent years resulting in a trade to the Nashville Predators late in the 2013-14 season. After a disappointing run there, he remained unsigned as a free agent last summer until August.
But going to the Flyers seemed to give his career a boost this past season and he was able to put together one of his better seasons in the league.
The Flyers now have eight defensemen under contract for the 2015-16 season, including Streit, Andrew MacDonald, Luke Schenn, Yevgeni Medvedev, Nick Schultz, Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning. That group combines for nearly $25 million in salary cap space. Del Zotto, Schultz, Streit and MacDonald are all signed for at least the next two seasons, while MacDonald's deal runs through the end of the 2020 season.
