New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with defenseman Michael Del Zotto. Del Zotto, 18, skated in 62 games with the Oshawa Generals and London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) this season, registering 13 goals and 50 assists for 63 points, along with 78 penalty minutes. The two-time OHL All-Star finished the season ranked sixth among all OHL defensemen in scoring and assists, while his 50 assists tied for 11th in the league overall. He also ranked fifth in the league with 32 power play assists. Del Zotto recorded the sixth longest assist streak in the OHL this season, registering an assist in seven straight contests from February 1 at Ottawa to February 16 at Guelph (nine assists). In addition, he posted 14 multi-point games, including five, three-point efforts. In the postseason with London, Del Zotto led the team with 16 assists and tied for fourth on the Knights with 19 points in 14 games. His 16 assists ranked second among all OHL defensemen in the playoffs, while his 19 points finished third among league blueliners. The 6-0, 195-pound defenseman has skated in 190 career OHL games with Oshawa and London, collecting 39 goals and 144 assists for 183 points, along with 238 penalty minutes. Last season, Del Zotto tied for third among all OHL defensemen in scoring with 63 points and ranked fourth with a career-high, 16 goals. He also tied for fifth in the league overall with five shorthanded goals. The second overall pick in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection, Del Zotto was twice named OHL Defensemen of the Month ? November 2006 and December 2007. The native of Stouffville, Ontario was the Rangers? first round choice, 20th overall, in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The selection marked the third time in four years the Rangers have chosen a defenseman in the first round, having drafted Marc Staal with the 12th overall pick in 2005 and Bobby Sanguinetti with the 21st overall pick in 2006.

New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent defenseman Ilkka Heikkinen. Heikkinen, 24, skated in 54 games with HIFK Helsinki of the SM-liiga this past season, registering eight goals and 26 assists for 34 points, along with 22 penalty minutes. His 34 points ranked third among all SM-liiga defensemen. He led all HIFK defensemen in goals (eight), assists (26) and points, while finishing second on the team overall in assists, fourth in points and seventh in goals. The Rauma, Finland native recorded two, six-game scoring streaks ? November 13 at Tappara to November 25 at Espoo (two goals and five assists) and January 15 vs. K?rp?t to January 26 at K?rp?t (two goals and six assists) ? and posted five multi-point performances, including two, three-point efforts ? January 15 vs. K?rp?t (one goal and two assists) and February 14 at Lukko (one goal and two assists). In addition, he recorded one assist in two postseason contests with HIFK. The 6-2, 200-pounder has appeared in 283 career SM-liiga games with Lukko Rauma and HIFK Helsinki, collecting 31 goals and 82 assists for 113 points, along with 255 penalty minutes. In 2007-08, Heikkinen established career-highs in goals (11), points (37) and penalty minutes (96), while his 26 assists led all HIFK skaters. In addition, he has appeared in 21 career SM-liiga playoff games with Lukko and HIFK, registering three assists and six penalty minutes.