Philadelphia Flyers D Michael Del Zotto Leaves Big Hole

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto’s season ending injury leaves a large, and possibly irreplaceable, hole in the Flyers’ defense

There are certain big stories this season that every Flyers fan knows about. Shayne Gostisbehere is having a spectacular rookie season. Michel Neuvirth got off to a great start and kept the team going when Steve Mason struggled. Claude Giroux again leads the team in points. And Sean Couturier is having a breakout season.

For my money, the most under-appreciated story of this season is the development of Michael Del Zotto. He turned so many heads last season when he exceeded everyone’s expectations. Little more than a cheap, emergency signing, he left an indelible mark on the team and fans. Playing for a paltry $1.3 million, Del Zotto electrified by scoring 10 goals in 64 games, often marauding down the left wing and sniping one past the goalie.

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That sight has not repeated itself this year. That may explain why he doesn’t get much mention when you see Philadelphia Flyers fans speak out on Twitter about possible team MVPs this season, as they did the other day. This year, Del Zotto has made less flashy, but possibly more important, contributions to the team. As a result, Flyers fans may not realize how seriously yesterday’s news of a season-ending injury for Del Zotto hurts the team.

Del Zotto has toned down the offensive, risky element in his game. His game morphed this season into something steadier. He’s refined his two-way play, and become a player who drives possession.

The chart shows a significant improvement in puck possession from last season. His Corsi differential is a clear career best. While goals for are down, it may simply be a matter of bad luck. At 5v5, the team was only shooting 4.18% when he was on the ice. Unusually low, and beyond parts of his control. Individually, his shooting percentage at 5v5 this year was 2.63%, a significant drop from last year’s unsustainable 7.53%.

Focusing on the defensive side, Del Zotto found new skill in shot suppression.

In this chart, lower is better because it shows how many shot attempts the opposition is taking with Del Zotto on the ice, as opposed to when he is off the ice. Other than the anomaly in 2011-12 in New York, Del Zotto has always been a defenseman who bleeds shots against. This year he has clamped down shots against, even while generating more shots for.

All of this development allowed coach Dave Hakstol to trust Del Zotto with a very large role on the team. He’s playing more minutes than ever at a team leading 23:25 per game, and they are tougher minutes. He often was matched up against the opposition’s top lines this year, and he’s not playing as many power play minutes as he did in earlier seasons to inflate his total time on ice with “easy” minutes.

Flyers fans may be shocked to see just how much the team relied on Del Zotto this year. Del Zotto has been on the ice 38.66% of the team’s 5v5 minutes. For point of comparison, that is 9th in the entire league. The players above him are names like Suter, Doughty, Karlsson, and Pietrangelo. Only one Flyer has been entrusted with so many minutes in the last 10 years; Braydon Coburn during the strike shortened 2012-13 season.

Replacing Del Zotto will clearly be a team effort. Ghost may play a bigger 5v5 role. Medvedev may get more opportunities, or recently recalled Andrew MacDonald may go from AHL oblivion to 20 minutes a night in the NHL. All solutions carry new risks, and Hakstol has lost his clear number 1 guy on the back end. What Del Zotto was doing this season wasn’t as pretty as a top shelf goal, but it’s probably even harder to replace for the Philadelphia Flyers as they make a late playoff bid.