“The most infuriating guy who ever wrote to me.” Did a porn star ruin an NHL player’s career?
Egor Torishny September 12, 2023, 12:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Michael Del Zotto could become one of the best shooting guards in the league, but the scandals surrounding his personal life came at a cost.
Sports journalists are sometimes accused that stories about the personal lives of football and hockey players are yellowish and that their attention should be focused on “goals, points, seconds.” However, it is often what happens off the court that has the biggest impact on players. Is it possible to analyze Mauro Icardi’s sports career apart from his soap opera with Wanda Nara? And it seems that there are also examples of this type in hockey.
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The other day Michael Del Zotto announced his retirement from big time hockey. This does not mean that the player’s career has been bad: the defenseman scored more than 700 points in the NHL, his name is engraved on the Stanley Cup. True, MDZ did not spend a second in the 2019 playoffs – the defender was included in the list of champions at the request of the St. Louis management. However, much more was expected from the 2008 first round, and perhaps one anecdotal story influenced the trajectory of Michael’s career.
A year after the draft, Del Zotto broke into the Rangers’ lineup: in his second game in the NHL, the defenseman scored his first goal and then began to steadily score points. The Italian-American quickly became the team’s primary player, playing 5-on-4 for nearly four minutes per game, finishing his regular season debut with 37 points. The second season, as often happens, was a failure and ended with a tie to the AHL; However, Del Zotto overcame the repetition syndrome and scored 41 points in the 2011/2012 championship. This was the first time reporters mentioned the defenseman on Norris Trophy ballots, but it was also the last time a defenseman would receive such an honor.
Michael Del Zotto
Photo: Aaron Doster/Cal Sport Media/TASS
After the lockout season, the team changed coaches, and Alain Vigneault was not particularly satisfied with the game of Del Zotto, whose offensive productivity sharply collapsed, and the “midfielder” was never an elite player in his zone.
“They told me this is a much better player. So far I don’t see anything like that… We’ll see how he reacts to the situation,” the coach grumbled. Shortly after, the defender was traded to Nashville, but even there he could not restart. The Predators didn’t even give the defenseman a qualifying offer and he became an unrestricted free agent at 24 years old. Nobody could understand what was happening to the defender.
Porn star Lisa Ann wrote on social media in November 2014 that MDZ asked her to set up dates with other girls, calling the hockey player “the most infuriating person who has ever messaged me.” “I was throwing a party a couple of years ago and Michael contacted me through the promoter and wanted to meet me. I thought: he’s fine, he’s from the Rangers, he’s nice, he’s a professional athlete, it’s unlikely that he wants to kill me or rob me. We went on a date, we chatted, it was good, and then a week later he asks me if I can help with the girls on the road. I’m like, “Hey, you can fuck girls anyway, call your agent or something, but not me!” – said the porn actress.
Del Zotto, however, did not give up and continued bombarding the adult film star with a ton of messages. According to Ann, she went for several months to Rangers games, where MDZ played, and tried to explain to him the absurdity of his wish, once he supposedly did it in front of the entire team (I wonder, under what circumstances, ahem ? ). “It’s strange, usually guys want to date me and not use me as a matchmaker,” Ann was surprised. After that, the porn star said “hundreds” of other women wrote to her, saying Del Zotto asked them for the exact same services. “Do me a favor and get me off their hands. Michael wants a date, sign him up! – Ana finished ironically.
Later, the porn actress spoke unflatteringly about the defender in an interview: “He approached me at some event. Instead of being alone with me, he wanted to have group sex. It’s so boring, I’m already so tired of this. I said, “Dude, you’re a weirdo. Let’s go #####.” I put him in his place.” The defender did not comment on all this, not even through the press service.
Michael Del Zotto
Photo: Peter Joneleit/Zuma/TASS
Coincidence or not, it was in the 2014/2015 season when Del Zotto surpassed the 30-point barrier for the last time in his career, playing in Philadelphia, which only offered a one-way contract. After that, the defender embarked on a galloping journey, changing teams in seven seasons. His best achievement during this time was 22 points in Vancouver, which was then rebuilding, after which MDZ had to play even in the AHL.
At the same time, Del Zotto gets rid of the role of don Juan and bon vivant: on his social media accounts you can find many posts about the fight against cancer in children. “During my career, I have had many incredible friendships, but the most valuable experiences for me have been those I have had with children during charity events,” the defenseman wrote in a statement announcing his retirement from hockey.
