Columbus Blue Jackets General Manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced on Sunday that they've signed defenceman Michael Del Zotto to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2020-21 season. The deal is worth $700,000 at the NHL level according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

"Michael has great vision and puck moving ability and has been every bit as good as we thought he would be when we brought him to camp," said Kekalainen. "We think the blue line is a real strength for our team, but you can never have enough good defensemen, particularly in a season like this with so many games in a relatively short period of time, and Michael has fit in very well with our group."

Del Zotto, 30, had spent 11 seasons in the National Hockey League playing for the New York Rangers, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks (two separate stints), and the St. Louis Blues.

The Stouffville, Ontario native was drafted in the first round, 20th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. In 657 regular season games, Del Zotto has recorded 236 points (56 G, 180 A), 272 penalty minutes, and is a -31. In 32 career playoff games, he's put up 12 points (3 G, 9 A), 20 penalty minutes, and is a -7.

Internationally, Del Zotto has represented Canada on one occasion, the 2010 IIHF World Hockey Championships. In 5 games he went pointless, had no penalties, and was a -1 as Canada finished seventh after losing to Russia in the quarter-finals.

Source: Columbus Blue Jackets

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