Fansided

Flyers Michael Del Zotto out indefinitely with upper body injury

By Dave Stevenson

Oct 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) during the third period at United Center. The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) during the third period at United Center. The Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that defenseman Michael Del Zotto will be out indefinitely with an upper body injury 

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered a tough loss in overtime against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. That’s not all that they lost. Defenseman Michael Del Zotto will be out indefinitely due to an upper body injury. The exact details of the injury are not known and neither is the timetable for his return.

Losing Del Zotto definitely hurts the Flyers. The Flyers don’t have much defensive depth so Del Zotto has played over 23 minutes per game this season. Those minutes will be difficult to replace. Del Zotto has four goals and nine assists for 13 points in 51 games this season for the Flyers.

That said, this could be a slight blessing in disguise for the Flyers. This could give young defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere an open path to getting more minutes. Gostisbehere is one of the players who the Flyers are building their future around. He’s been relatively sheltered this season as he has averaged just 18:51 of ice time per game.

Philadelphia could use Michael Del Zotto’s unfortunate injury to see how Gostisbehere responds to getting more minutes. His development is integral to the Flyers contending in the future and he has answered every challenge presented to him thus far. It’s time for the Flyers to see what the Ghost Bear is really made of. They have nothing to lose in doing so.

Home/NHL