The Nashville Predators acquired a defenceman with offensive upside, in exchange for a veteran with a long-term contract. swell Bouteille Isotherme . 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. swell Bouteille France . Thats 14 consecutive losses to the two-time defending champs, and most of them were over before they even began. Result notwithstanding, Sundays game had a very different feel to it. swell Bouteille dEau . Chris Johnson singled with two outs off left-hander Jerry Blevins (1-1), and Schafer pinch ran. With a 2-2 count, Schafer ran on the pitch and Upton dropped a single in front of Bryce Harper. Schafer already was rounding third when Schafer bobbled the ball. http://www.swellbouteille.fr/bouteille-s-well-bois-france.html .5 million contract with the right-handed reliever. Ziegler revealed the agreement via Twitter, saying hes "really excited to stay in Arizona for a couple more years, at least.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off just their fourth setback of the season, the 11th-ranked Utah Runnin Utes now focus on the USC Trojans in a Pac-12 Conference clash at the Galen Center on Sunday afternoon. The Runnin Utes entered the weekend tied for second in the Pac-12 standings with Stanford at 6-2, trailing only Arizona. On Thursday night, Utah was stunned by a mediocre UCLA program on the road by a score of 69-59, snapping a two-game win streak for the Utes in the process. As for the Trojans, they continue to look up at the rest of the league with their 1-7 mark. They were tied with Washington State with the worst overall record among Pac-12 programs at 9-11 prior to the weekends action. Three nights ago, the team fought through three overtime periods before being brushed aside by Colorado, 98-94, at home. It was USCs fifth straight setback and the seventh in eight tries since the start of the new calendar year. The Utes easily won the first meeting of the season early last month by a score of 79-55 at home, as Delon Wright registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists, one of four players to score in double figures for a Utah squad that knocked down 56.9 percent from the field and 11-of-19 shots behind the 3-point line. With that victory at the Huntsman Center, Utah moved ahead in the all-time series by a count of 18-17. Utah made good on 57.1 percent from the floor in the first half against the Bruins, but still the visitors trailed by three at the break and eventually by 15 in the second half before settling for the 10-point road loss. Wright tried to keep the Utes competitive with 15 points and six rebounds, shooting 6-of-9 from the floor, followed by Brandon Taylor with 14 points and five assists as he connected on 4-of-9 tries out on the perimeter, the rest of the team combinning to make only 3-of-13 from distance. Bouteille swell a Vendre. Wright and Taylor have been the focal points on offense for the Utes when they head into battle against the rest of the Pac-12, the duo averaging 12.9 and 12.8 ppg, respectively. Wright, who has made good on all but four of his 35 free-throw attempts, is also the key figure when it comes to getting his teammates involved in the action, having handed out 53 assists in eight starts. Taylor is right behind him with another 33 dishes as they combine for 31 steals and just 27 turnovers as the team averages a shade over 10 miscues per contest. In an exhausting exhibition just three nights ago, Katin Reinhardt and Nikola Jovanovic became the first pair of Trojans to score 30 or more points in the same game, albeit doing it in three overtimes. However, the 35 points from Reinhardt and the 30 from Jovanovic were not enough to keep USC out of the loss column yet again. Reinhardt drained a total of nine 3-pointers to tie the single-game record set by Anthony Pendleton nearly 30 years ago, and setting the new mark at the Galen Center. Jordan McLaughlin, who missed a number of opportunities to potentially give USC the win, finished with 11 points, seven boards and seven assists, but at the same time shot only 5-of-12 at the free- throw line. As the only USC player to have started all eight league games, it makes sense that Jovanovic leads the team in scoring with 16.8 ppg as he shoots 59.3 percent from the floor. He is also first on the glass with 6.8 rpg, yet somehow has accidentally issued a mere five assists in 250 minutes of action. Reinhardt, who fouled out against Colorado, has converted 23 of his teams 40 3-pointers, leading to 14.1 ppg, while McLaughlin pitches in with 10.3 ppg and 26 assists, but is hitting a mere 28.4 percent from the floor overall. ' ' '