Player Review: Michael Del Zotto

The end of the 2019-20 Ducks season was made official when the NHL announced its Return to Play Plan on May 26. Anaheim concluded the season with a 29-33-9 record and 67 points, having played 71 games until the regular season was paused March 12 and eventually deemed completed May 26 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over this offseason we're featuring a different Ducks player in numerical order in our annual player review series highlighting key stats and moments from the past season. You can find published pieces and a full schedule on this landing page.

It's not often you see a player return to a club he once played for, but that's what happened with defenseman Michael Del Zotto. Two seasons ago (on Jan. 16, 2019), the Ducks acquired the veteran blueliner from Vancouver. Del Zotto ended up playing 12 games with the Ducks before he was traded to St. Louis five weeks later. When the offseason came around, Del Zotto signed a one-year contract with the Ducks, marking his return to Orange County five months after he left.

There was a certain feeling of 'home' that stuck with Del Zotto in the months after leaving. "I'm really happy to be back here," he said during the 2019 preseason. "It was kind of bittersweet getting traded [in Jan. 2019], but when I came here, playing with Cam [Fowler], I thought we gelled really well together.

"I loved my time here. Great group of guys. I just felt it suited me really well. It was tough to leave, but at the end of the day, it worked out all right."

It sure did. Del Zotto's time with the Blues culminated in the franchise's first ever Stanley Cup championship, defeating the Boston Bruins in a winner-take-all Game 7 on June 12, 2019.

The 2019-20 campaign marked Del Zotto's 11th NHL season, and his first full run with the Ducks. The steady defenseman posted 15 points (2g/13a) with a +5 rating in 49 games, co-leading the Ducks in plus/minus with Carter Rowney. It was a strong season in many ways for Del Zotto, whose 13 assists marked his second-highest single-season total in five seasons, while his +5 represented his best since 2012-13 with the New York Rangers (+6). In a game on Oct. 29 vs. Winnipeg, he recorded a season-high +4 rating, one shy of his career best and the single-game franchise mark.

The first of two goals he scored in 2019-20 came in the second game of the season, a one-timer in the slot to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead over San Jose at Honda Center on Oct. 5.

His second goal came in a game on Jan. 31 vs. Tampa Bay, a nifty sequence that began with him holding the puck in the zone, carrying it into the high slot and firing a shot through a screen past Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie the score, 2-2.

After the season was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Del Zotto (an Ontario native) returned to the Toronto area and got to work. He was volunteering at the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto once a week, lending a hand at the distribution hub.

"It's been incredible," said Del Zotto, Video: SJS@ANA: Del Zotto buries one-timer into open net posted by NHLPA.com. "Being able to go into a warehouse where you're practicing social distancing and all of the safety protocols and see so many selfless people giving their time for the wellbeing of others, it's just wonderful to see. It's amazing to see the work that they do, and how dedicated everyone is to the cause. I'm thankful for the opportunity to help."

Del Zotto also dabbles in the art of DJing, and uses Instagram Live as a platform to raise money for the Daily Bread Food Bank every Friday night. You can find him Video: SJS@ANA: Del Zotto buries one-timer into open net.