15 Michael Del Zotto D

Del Zotto (lower body) will play in Thursday's game versus the Blackhawks, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Del Zotto is back in the lineup after missing just one game. The 30-year-old has been a consistent player on Columbus' blue line this year, averaging 16:58 of ice time and producing six points, 37 shots on net and 45 hits over 19 games.

Del Zotto is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

The Blue Jackets haven't released a target date for Del Zotto's return, but he'll miss Tuesday's clash with Chicago at a minimum. He's picked up six points through 19 games this campaign.

Del Zotto picked up a goal and an assist in Thursday's 6-5 win over Chicago. He also racked up six hits and five shots.

Del Zotto registered both of his points during the game's final three minutes, erasing Columbus' 5-4 deficit while putting an end to his eight-game point drought in the process. Del Zotto jumped on a rebound off the crossbar and hammered a shot from the left faceoff dot to tie the game with 2:41 remaining, then set up Kevin Stenlund's game-winner 87 seconds later. He also tied for the team lead in shots and finished second in hits.

Del Zotto signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Del Zotto scored an official contract after joining the Blue Jackets on a PTO in December. The 30-year-old blueliner averaged 18:43 of ice time over 49 games with the Ducks last season, recording 15 goals, 101 hits and 55 blocked shots. Del Zotto will add veteran depth on the blue line and likely will play sparingly this season.

Del Zotto will attend the Blue Jackets' training camp on a professional tryout offer, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

Del Zotto appeared in 49 games with the Ducks last season, posting 15 points and a plus-5 rating while averaging 18:43 of ice time per contest. If he's able to earn a contract during training camp, Del Zotto will likely be nothing more than a rotational depth option for Columbus in 2020-21, so he won't be a useful fantasy option.

Del Zotto finished 2019-20 with two goals and 13 assists in 49 games.

Del Zotto's return to Anaheim after departing briefly last year to win a Cup with St. Louis didn't amount to much excitement. MDZ hasn't offered attractive fantasy production since 2014-15's 32-point effort in 64 games with Philadelphia, and his lack of shooting (57 SOG) and power-play time (47 seconds on average) this season didn't exactly help. He dished out 101 hits, though, so if your league rewards physicality -- and 0.31 points per game from the back end is of use -- go ahead and take a look at the veteran next year.

Del Zotto recorded an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Senators.

Del Zotto had the secondary helper on Nicolas Deslauriers' second of three goals in the first period. The 29-year-old Del Zotto has four assists and 17 hits in his last nine outings. The defenseman is up to 15 points, 100 hits, 55 blocks and a plus-6 rating in 48 appearances overall. That production could help in deep fantasy formats.

Del Zotto picked up an assist and two shots on goal in Friday's 2-1 win over the Maple Leafs.

Del Zotto ended a four-game point drought with his helper on Carter Rowney's first-period tally. The 29-year-old defenseman has taken on a big role with injuries plaguing four Ducks blueliners currently. Del Zotto is up to 14 points, 97 hits and 55 shots through 46 games overall.

Del Zotto notched an assist and two shots on goal in Tuesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Oilers.

Del Zotto has posted assists in consecutive games. The 29-year-old is up to 13 points, 49 shots and 90 hits through 41 appearances this season. With the Ducks trading away Korbinian Holzer and reassigning Brendan Guhle to AHL San Diego, Del Zotto should have a fairly consistent role going forward.

Del Zotto registered an assist and six hits in Sunday's 6-5 overtime loss to the Golden Knights.

Del Zotto earned just his second helper in eight appearances in February. The 29-year-old blueliner is at 12 points, 89 hits and 49 blocked shots in 40 games this season -- his role with the Ducks is part-time at best.

Del Zotto scored a goal, dished an assist and blocked three shots in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Lightning.

He set up Rickard Rakell in the first period and then scored after picking off an errant pass later in the frame. Del Zotto matched his 10-point output from last season in his 33rd game this year. The 29-year-old defenseman has added 72 hits, 42 blocks and 37 shots on goal.

Del Zotto recorded an assist, two shots on goal and three hits in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Blue Jackets.

The defenseman's shot attempt in the first period was tipped in by Ryan Getzlaf. Del Zotto has three assists, 19 hits and four PIM in his last five games. He's at eight points, 66 hits and 33 shots on goal through 29 contests this season in a part-time role.

Del Zotto collected an assist and four hits in Monday's 4-2 win over the Kings.

Del Zotto has two assists in his last three appearances, but he had sat out the previous four games as a healthy scratch. The veteran defenseman has posted five points 39 hits and 22 blocked shots in 18 contests this season. He typically plays big minutes when he's in the lineup, but playing time has been inconsistent for the 29-year-old.

Del Zotto notched an assist in Monday's 5-2 defeat to Washington.

Del Zotto ended a five-game pointless streak, but still hasn't scored a goal in 15 consecutive games dating back to Oct. 5 versus San Jose. The Ontario native is averaging 24:19 of ice time since serving as a healthy scratch for two games. The 29-year-old should still end up in the press box from time to time the rest of the season, limiting his fantasy value.

Del Zotto posted an assist, four blocked shots and a plus-4 rating in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Jets.

Del Zotto led all skaters by playing 25:03 in the contest. His assist came on a Cam Fowler tally in the first period, but he was a steadying presence for a Ducks blue line missing Hampus Lindholm (lower body). Del Zotto has three points in 10 appearances while adding 19 hits and 12 blocks. Playing time isn't a given for the 29-year-old, but he'll be in the lineup more often than not.

Del Zotto registered an assist and went plus-2 with two hits in Friday's 4-2 win over the Hurricanes.

Del Zotto is up to two points and a plus-5 rating in six games this season. The 29-year-old defenseman also has 15 hits. Del Zotto's best offensive years seem to be behind him, but he could produce upwards of 20 points if he remains a fixture on the Ducks' blue line.

Del Zotto scored a goal and added three hits and two blocked shots in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Sharks.

Del Zotto struck just 3:38 into the game for the opening goal, slinging the puck into a yawning cage after Ondrej Kase stole the puck from Sharks goalie Aaron Dell behind the net. Del Zotto was once a formidable point-producer, but he last hit the 30-point threshold in 2014-15 when he played for the Flyers. The blueliner did have 129 hits in 42 games last season, but that came with only 10 points.

Del Zotto signed a one-year contract with the Ducks on Thursday, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.

Del Zotto found himself on three different teams over the course of last season -- Vancouver, Anaheim and St. Louis -- and, in all, racked up 10 points (one goal, nine assists) over 42 total games. While the 29-year-old was with the eventual-champion Blues for their postseason run, he didn't see any ice time after a 4-3 loss to the Lightning on March 23. While Del Zotto may be able to find stability with the Ducks this coming season after averaging over 17 minutes of ice time in 2018-19, his fantasy value could have a fairly low ceiling.

Del Zotto notched an assist versus Detroit on the way to a 5-2 win Thursday.

Del Zotto is now riding a three-game point streak and seems to be acclimating well to his new digs in St. Louis. In 23 games with Vancouver, the defenseman was limited to four points, but he needs just one more to match that mark with the Blues since his trade-deadline move.

The Ducks traded Del Zotto to the Blues on Monday for a sixth-round draft pick, Elliott Teaford of The Orange County Register reports.

Del Zotto was a serviceable fantasy option in the first five years of his career with the Rangers; he even notched 37 points as a rookie in 2019-10 and cracked double digits in power play goals (11) and assists (18) in his introductory campaign. However, injuries have hindered Del Zotto in recent years, and he's only compiled 40 points in 309 games between subsequent stops in Philadelphia, Vancouver, Nashville and Anaheim. Don't expect him to suddenly rediscover his offensive magic in The Loo, but Del Zotto should at least be able to handle bottom-pairing minutes at the top level until Carl Gunnarsson (lower body) returns from injury.