Ducks sign Del Zotto, De Leo, Kloos, Wideman to One-Year Contracts

Jul 16, 2019

The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed defenseman Michael Del Zotto to a one-year contract through the 2019-20 NHL season. In addition, the Ducks have signed centers Chase De Leo and Justin Kloos, and defenseman Chris Wideman to one-year, two-way contracts through 2019-20.

Del Zotto, 29 (6/24/90), owns 54-167=221 points with 258 penalty minutes (PIM) in 608 career NHL games with St. Louis, Anaheim, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Nashville and the New York Rangers. A member of the 2019 Stanley Cup champion Blues, Del Zotto has also collected 3-9=12 points in 32 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.

Selected by the Rangers in the first round (20th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Del Zotto had 1-9=10 points in 42 games with the Ducks, Blues and Canucks last season. The 6-0, 201-pound defenseman began 2018-19 with Vancouver before being acquired by Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Luke Schenn and a seventh-round selection in the 2020 NHL Draft Jan. 16, 2019. Del Zotto earned three assists in 12 games with the Ducks prior to his acquisition by the Blues in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft Feb. 25, 2019.

De Leo, 23 (10/25/95), made his Anaheim debut Mar. 30, 2019 at Edmonton as the fourth Southern California native to play for the Ducks. De Leo played the majority of 2018-19 with San Diego of the American Hockey League (AHL), recording 20-35=55 points with a +16 rating in a team-leading 66 games. The 5-9, 180-pound center established AHL career bests in points, goals, assists and plus/minus last season.

Selected by Winnipeg in the fourth round (99th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft, De Leo was acquired by Anaheim in exchange for Nic Kerdiles June 30, 2018. The La Mirada, CA native has appeared in three career NHL games with the Ducks and Jets, recording a +2 rating. He has also earned 65-95=162 points in 277 career AHL games with San Diego and Manitoba.

Kloos, 25 (11/30/93), has appeared in two career NHL games with Anaheim and Minnesota over the last two seasons. Kloos made his Anaheim debut Jan. 19, 2019 at New Jersey in a 3-2 Ducks victory. The 5-9, 175-pound center played the remainder of the 2018-19 season in the AHL and combined for 18-27=45 points with a +3 rating in 59 games with San Diego and Iowa. Acquired from Minnesota in exchange for Pontus Aberg Jan, 16, 2019, Kloos added 3-6=9 points in 16 games with the Gulls during the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs.

Signed as a free agent by Minnesota Mar. 29, 2017, Kloos made his debut with the Wild Oct. 24, 2017 vs. Vancouver. He has appeared in 144 career AHL games with San Diego and Iowa, recording 38-58=96 points. Kloos was a Big Ten First All-Star Team selection in his senior season with the University of Minnesota Gophers in 2016-17. Helping the Gophers to four consecutive Big Ten regular-season championships, Kloos concluded his collegiate career with 63-87=150 points in 155 Big Ten games.

Wideman, 29 (1/7/90), has appeared in 181 career NHL games with Florida, Edmonton and Ottawa, compiling 16-29=45 points with a +4 rating and 104 PIM. Wideman helped the Senators to a berth in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final with 1-3=4 points in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The 5-10, 183-pound blueliner earned 2-5=7 points in 25 games with the Senators, Oilers and Panthers last season. Selected by Ottawa in the fourth round (100th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Wideman spent the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign with Springfield (AHL) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). In 18 AHL games last season, Wideman combined for 3-12=15 points with the Thunderbirds and Penguins.