When the Philadelphia Flyers picked up defenseman Michael Del Zotto off the NHL scrap heap, expectations were very low. He was purely an emergency signing in the wake of Kimmo Timonen’s career-threatening health issues, and any NHL player signing in August at around a million dollars is basically just happy to have an NHL job at all.
Del Zotto, a former first round pick, nevertheless revived his NHL career in that first season with the Flyers. He tied a career high with 10 goals, and in only 64 games. He was a real lifeline to a Flyers defense group that everyone loves to rag on, and it earned him a big pay raise with the Flyers.