The Nashville Predators acquired a defenceman with offensive upside, in exchange for a veteran with a long-term contract. Cordarrelle Patterson Jersey . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Del Zotto, 23, has been a decent, if not altogether consistent, puck-moving defenceman through 292 NHL games, but he never seemed to connect with new Rangers coach Alain Vigneault and was playing a career-low 17:45 per game this season, after logging a career-high 23:10 for the Rangers last season. The ideal for Del Zotto is to play in an offensive role, working the power play, where he has tallied 48 of his 121 career points (39.7%) and that contribution helps offset otherwise mediocre numbers at even strength. During his five-year career, Del Zotto is a little above average in terms of offensive production (ranking 56th in points per 60 minutes, among 161 defencemen to play a minimum of 3000 5-on-5 minutes). His possession numbers are less inspiring, ranking 102nd out of that same group of 161, while starting a healthy percentage of his shifts in the offensive zone. Playing on the Rangers third pairing this year also means that Del Zotto has faced a lower level of competition than he has in previous seasons and its not as though hes excelled against that weaker competition, so theres a decent chance that Del Zotto is going to need protection in Nashville. While Del Zotto might be a useful addition as a lefthanded shot, on a blueline that was leaning right, hell need to play better if hes going to fill a top-four role on a nightly basis. He is only 23, so there is the possibility that he will improv but, with Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm the left shooting defencemen in the top four for Nashville lately, Del Zotto figures to be competing with Ekholm for second-pair playing time. When it comes to the power play, Del Zotto could get a look ahead of Ryan Ellis on the second pairing. At a cap hit of $2.55-million, Del Zotto will be a restricted free agent at seasons end, which makes the rest of this season an audition, a chance for Del Zotto to rehabilitate his value after a tough start to the year, and if he doesnt, then the Predators will likely have a more affordable (albeit less appealing) option on the blueline. Ultimately, Del Zottos offensive upside, in addition to increased salary flexibility, makes the deal worthwhile for the Predators. The Rangers Get: D Kevin Klein. Klein is a 29-year-old right-shooting defenceman who will never be confused for an offensive dynamo. Hes talled 82 points in 403 career games, including three points in 47 games this season, but it doesnt mean he doesnt have some skill when presented with a scoring opportunity. Nevertheless, while Klein has played top four minutes on the Nashville blueline over the past five seasons, hes taken some lumps in that role. His possession stats, like most in Nashville, arent good (ranking 146th out of the aforementioned group of 161), but that does come with the caveat of starting the majority of his shifts in the defensive zone and, generally, facing a decent level of competition. In New York, Klein will take over Del Zottos spot on the third pairing, which will allow John Moore to move back to his natural left side and the easier level of competition in that role ought to help Klein. There is some congruity in the righty-lefty shooting part of this deal. Klein is under contract for four more season, at a cap hit of $2.9-million per season, a tad pricey for the third pairing, but thats likely where he fits. Klein offers some insurance if the Rangers lose Dan Girardi as an unrestricted free agent in the summer but, based on his career to this point, its not as though Klein ought to be tasked with taking on the oppositions best forwards. He can play some of those hard minutes, but chances are its asking too much. The price tag on Klein is dubious because of the term remaining on his contract. If this hasnt been a great season for him, how much better will it be when hes 32 or 33-years-old? Given that questionable value, it doesnt speak too well about the perceived value of Del Zotto around the league. Having a legitimate NHL defenceman, who has handled top-four minutes, under contract might offer some safety to the Blueshirts and thats essentially what this deal is. Taking a defensive defenceman, under contract, in exchange for an offensive defenceman that is headed for restricted free agency. Barring improvement, both could end up on the third pairings for their new teams. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Cordarrelle Patterson Patriots Jersey . On Wednesday, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hit back. In a passionate defence of himself and the London clubs medical staff, the Portuguese coach rebuked the "incompetent people" who have attacked Tottenham for allowing Lloris to continue playing after being briefly knocked unconscious against Everton on Sunday. Danny Shelton Jersey .com) - Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3 victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center. http://www.authenticpatriotsfanatic.com/c-110-patriots-kenny-britt-jersey.aspx . Villar connected off Joe Saunders (11-14), sending a drive well over the left-field fence for his first career homer. The Astros scored six times in the first three innings to chase Saunders.TORONTO - When the Raptors rolled into Detroit last month, the Pistons had hit rock bottom, a feeling Dwane Casey and most of his team are familiar with. Raptors fans had come down by the busload, packing the Palace and overpowering the home crowd on a night in which the Pistons would go on to drop their 12th straight in Auburn Hills. James Johnson dazzled Torontos traveling entourage with a vicious dunk on Andre Drummond, topped only by his post-game summation of the jam: I cocked that joint back and banged on him. As a miniture malice broke out following Drummonds cheap shot on Johnson, Josh Smith got into a verbal altercation with a spectator in Raptor colours, his swan song as a Piston. His former club has gone 9-1 since letting him go. They remind me a lot of us from last year after the [Rudy Gay] trade, Casey said ahead of Mondays rematch, a 114-111 loss to Detroit. Theyre clicking on all cylinders both on offence and defence. The Pistons are the NBAs feel-good team of the New Year and no one can quite put their finger on the exact science behind it, although weve seen it before. There are some obvious similarities between these two abrupt turnarounds - last seasons Raptors and this years edition of the Pistons - both of them brought on by the removal of a high-usage player. Addition by subtraction. The basics are relatively straight forward. Without Smith, Stan Van Gundy has had 32 minutes and 14 shots to redistribute nightly, doing so in a way that better suits his desired style of play. Much of Torontos leftover shots, following the Gay trade, went to Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and Terrence Ross. The Pistons - like Van Gundys old Magic teams - are shooting a ton of threes, theyre playing harder on defence and getting unusually consistent production from Brandon Jennings, Mondays hero. But theres more to it than that, evident in the way the visiting Pistons clawed their way back in the second half after the Raptors had roughed them up during the first 24 minutes. The Pistons resurgence, primarily on the defensive end, is difficult to explain. They entered Mondays contest allowing 95.7 points per 100 possessions since waiving Smith, which would rank at the top of the NBA this season. Casey attributes it to something he would know a thing or two about: chemistry. You see something that kind of jolts your system like that, he said. You waive a player that [has] the status of Josh Smith, it kind of jolts your system. And [Van Gundys] been a good coach. Hes proven that what he does works and now theyre buying in and its clicking. I dont know if theres a magic wand. You cant really put your finger on it but sometimes things like that just come together. They play harder, said Patrick Patterson, after the Pistons outscored Toronto 66-51 in the final two quarters to seal their come from behind victory. A lot more intensity, a lot more ball movement. Everyones more active and sharing. There seems to be a lot more trust out there. Its certainly not unprecedented. Often times after a losing team undergoes any major shakeup youll see an immediate spike in produuction. Troy Niklas Jersey. . For players and coaches that feel they might be next it could serve as a wake-up call, for others its a moment of bonding, a cause to come together and defy the odds. The question always is: can they sustain it? More often than not, they dont. Eventually the adrenaline wears off and ordinary players, playing over their heads, crash back down to earth. Even with their improved defence failing them - Toronto shot 52 per cent, scoring 111 points Monday - the Pistons found a way to grind it out, a quality the Raptors had perfected back in 2014. Shooting just 43 per cent from the field themselves, Detroit grabbed 17 offensive boards, got to the line 31 times (compared to just 14 attempts for Toronto) and scored 22 points off 19 Raptors turnovers. We shot ourselves in the foot, Casey said after the Raptors squandered a 12-point halftime lead and career night from Jonas Valanciunas. If you commit that many turnovers against a good team like that, you shoot yourself in the foot and thats what we did. Thats all on us. Are these Pistons for real? Is this sustainable? Thats the million dollar quandary and something no one, even Van Gundy - the teams engineer - can know for sure. Masai Ujiri and the Raptors had no idea what they had created after shipping Gay off to Sacramento in early December last season. Even as the team started to win, as Lowry broke out and DeRozan became an all-star, it took a leap of fate to keep that group together long enough to prove they could sustain their unexpected success. But, until recently, they have. The Pistons find themselves in a similar situation. Jennings looked like a star on Monday, outplaying Lowry, who had an off night. The former Bucks point guard has been the biggest beneficiary of Smiths departure, scoring 34 points to go along with 10 assists and the game-winning steal against the Raptors. Has he turned a corner under Van Gundy, like Lowry did a year ago, or is this another mirage in what has been an erratic NBA career to this point? He made some tough shots, Casey said of Jennings. We double-teamed him, we put James [Johnson] on him, we put size on him, we went under the pick and rolls, we did a little bit of everything. Youve got to shake his hand, he had a great night. Like the Raptors a year ago, Detroit has an opportunity to take advantage of a weak Eastern Conference. After Mondays win they sit just two games out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. Do they continue to rebuild, add to their roster in the hopes of making a postseason run, or take a page out of Ujiris book and let this ride? Continue to win, I think it the most important thing, Casey said. I think the things theyre doing defensively [are] sustainable. Theyre shooting the lights out, I dont know if thats sustainable for anytime, whether its Detroit or whoever it is. Thats something that can come and go. But defensively theyre locked in, theyre tuned, theyre down, theyre talking, theyre a totally different team right now than they were when we played them [in December] defensively. And thats sustainable. 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