Del Zotto happy he’s still with the Blue Jackets
Michael Del Zotto is playing his 12th NHL season and has become a crafty veteran when it comes to the trade deadline.
He’s been traded at the deadline before, was prepared to be traded again by the Blue Jackets on Monday and was prepared for that outcome.
“I had my place packed,” said Del Zotto, who wasn’t traded by general manager Jarmo Kekalainen. “I had all my bags packed just to be ready in case it were to happen.”
He also monitored “deadline day” online.
“I was sitting in bed, I had my phone on and just kept refreshing Twitter, just kept waiting to see what was happening,” said Del Zotto, who played 25:06 on Monday as Seth Jones’ defense partner against the Blackhawks. “You have a little 10- to 15-minute buffer (after the deadline) for all those (late) trades to come in ... so I was nervous and just refreshing Twitter waiting to see if ‘Michael Del Zotto’ showed up anywhere.”
It didn’t, which was a relief for the 30-year-old defenseman.
He learned that post-deadline ‘buffer’ thing the hard way in 2014, when the New York Rangers sent him to the Nashville Predators during on a road trip in Western Canada.
“If a trade’s going to happen, it’s going to happen,” said Del Zotto, who earned a one-year contract for $700,000 this season after starting out with a professional tryout offer. “That’s out of your control. I’m not fortunate enough to have a no-move clause that I get to decide where I go or if I go. I’ve been through it before (and) I had the happy thumbs going on Twitter there, refreshing for a couple hours.”
After he was sure a trade wouldn’t happen, Del Zottowas happy. He didn’t keep it a secret prior to the deadline that he liked it in Columbus and wanted to stay.
“I made that clear with the guys, that I didn’t want to be anywhere else and that I wanted to help out in the 12 games or whatever we have left,” he said. “That game (Monday) was a bit of a grind. I didn’t have my usual nap, didn’t really eat much all day. I was a little sick to my stomach, to be honest with you, but I’m happy I’m still here. Really happy I’m still here.”
Domi penalties killed momentum
Max Domi had a meltdown near the end of the second period on Monday after hooking Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy. After cross-checking Murphy a few seconds later and then throwing the wiry 6-foot-4 defenseman around like a ragdoll, Domi was assessed two minor penalties plus a 10minute misconduct that kept him in the penalty box for more than 12 minutes to start the third.
The Blue Jackets killed off the resulting power plays, but coach John Tortorella was most displeased about the penalties ruining a good situation. Chicago had a tired group of players stuck on the ice after a pair of icing calls, which had allowed Tortorella to get Domi’s second line out there against them.
“I throw Max’s line out there, and instead of trying to take advantage of a tired line and a 2-1 game, it’s just stupidity as far as I’m concerned,” Tortorella said, without expanding further.
Cannon fodder
Rookie forward Josh Dunne centered the fourth line in practice Wednesday at Nationwide Arena and will make his NHL debut on Thursday in Dallas. Dunne signed with the Blue Jackets recently as a collegiate free agent out of Clarkson University. … Defenseman Mikko Lehtonen worked on the fourth defense pairing with Gabriel Carlsson while Andrew Peeke worked on the third pairing. That is likely an indication that Peeke will play and Lehtonen may be a healthy scratch against Dallas. bhedger@dispatch.com @Brianhedger