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Sather on Del Zotto contract offer: He “has until [tomorrow] morning to figure this out”

Michael Del Zotto

New York Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (4) holds a puck as he is honored as one of the game’s three stars after the Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals 2-1 in Game 7 of their second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series at Madison Square Garden in New York, Saturday, May 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP

Safe to say Rangers GM Glen Sather isn’t all that pleased with how contract negotiations are going with restricted free agent Michael Del Zotto.

Sather tells Larry Brooks of the New York Post that the team’s offer is more than fair and it’s time for him to make sure he gets to training camp.

“Michael has until [tomorrow] morning to figure this out, and I sure hope he does so he doesn’t have to miss any time,” Sather told The Post last night. “We’ve made Michael a very good and very fair offer.

“Sitting out is not going to help him in any way.”

Brooks says the offer is a two-year deal worth a bit more than $2.4 million per year. Del Zotto, meanwhile, apparently wants $3 million per season.

Teams can’t officially sign anyone until there’s a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the NHL and Players’ Association. The Sunday deadline Sather is talking about is the official start of training camp which can happen once the MOU is taken care of. That’s expected to be completed today.

Either way, Del Zotto isn’t earning any brownie points with the Rangers by playing hardball.