Michael Del Zotto isn’t doing the Rangers any good as a trade chip by watching games in civilian clothes as a healthy scratch the way he has the last three matches.
Of course, Del Zotto hasn’t done the Rangers all that much good on the ice the way he’s played for much of the first quarter of the season, either.
The Rangers aren’t necessarily dangling Del Zotto, but they’re sure taking calls on him. Any number of teams are seeking a puck-moving defenseman to jump-start the offense and join the attack. Of course, the Rangers are one of them.
At this point, the club hasn’t received an offer that has piqued their interest. The only way for the 23-year-old defenseman to increase his value is to improve his play. The thing is, if he does that, there’d be little reason for the Rangers to move him.
Del Zotto will move back into the lineup Thursday night in Dallas. But even as Alain Vigneault confirmed that Wednesday, the coach pointedly refused to name Del Zotto as one of the club’s top defensemen, saying he hadn’t yet earned that designation.
“A player like Michael has to play to his strengths,” Vigneault said. “I’ve been told his strengths are his ability to beat the forecheck, join the rush, help out on the power play and get shots through.
“I have not seen that on a consistent enough basis to say he is going to be in the lineup every day. Some other ‘D’ can have an off-night and you’re going to throw them back in, but Michael, in the 20-odd games I’ve been here, hasn’t shown that consistently enough. As far as what I’ve seen, he’s fighting for one of the top six spots. I’ve been told that Michael Del Zotto is a much better player than I’ve seen so far. We’ll see how he responds and go from there.”
Del Zotto, who has four points (1-3) in 16 games with a minus-four rating and a positive Corsi number, has appeared tentative and too often has been stationary. He has one assist on the power play while getting 2:41 of ice per on the point.
The defenseman, the 20th overall selection in the 2008 Entry Draft who burst onto the scene as the October 2009 Rookie of the Month as a 19-year-old, said he does not want to be traded but that he was “surprised” at sitting out three straight.
“I’m not happy about it,” Del Zotto told The Post. “I could understand maybe one game being a message and getting right back at it like [with Mats Zuccarello], but I wasn’t expecting three games.
“I come to the rink with a smile on my face, work had and try to get better every day. This is where I want to be. Most important, I want to play and contribute to this team.”
Vigneault — who said the three-game benching was not a message but rather a reflection of what he believed would be the club’s best lineup — also referenced the case of Zuccarello, who responded to his Oct. 24 scratch in Detroit with the best hockey of his NHL career and has thus earned a top-six forward’s spot.
“I probably would have had the same conversation about Zuccarello before I sat him out, the same exact thing,” the coach said. “I’d been told he had an offensive game, but I hadn’t seen it.
“All of a sudden he sits out a game, gets another opportunity and this time he jumps on it,” Vigneault said. “I’m hoping the next time we talk about Michael, I can say, ‘Yes, I’ve seen it, seen him beat the forecheck, join the rush, get his shots through, that’s why he’s playing regularly and why his minutes are up.’ ”
Of course, if Del Zotto does pick up his game, it’s also possible Vigneault next will be talking about the player the Rangers obtained in a trade.
Taylor Pyatt, who skated for the second straight day before practice, did not travel with the team to Dallas. But the winger, concussed in Columbus on Nov. 7, may join the club during the trip that continues in Nashville, Tampa Bay and Florida before concluding in Boston on Nov. 29.