Rangers sign defenders Del Zotto, Gilroy

New York Rangers said Sunday defensemen Michael Del Zotto and Matt Gilroy have signed contracts with the team as NHL training camps open. New York said Del Zotto, a restricted free agent with New York, has signed a two-year deal worth a reported $2.5 million per season. The former Rangers first-round draft choice recorded a pair of goals with eight assists in the 2012 playoffs during his postseason debut after a regular season in which he set career highs with 10 goals and 31 assists for 41 points. Meanwhile, ex-Rangers blueliner Gilroy returns to the team on a one-year deal after spending 2011-12 with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators. He had a productive stint with the Connecticut Whale of the American Hockey League during the 113-day NHL lockout, logging six goals and nine assists in 34 games. The Rangers and other NHL teams opened training camps Sunday, following Saturday's ratification of a new collective bargaining agreement by the players' union. The camps will last through the week, followed on Jan. 19 with the start of a truncated, 48-game season concluding in late April. From UPI