Greg Zanon

Gregory M. Zanon (born June 5, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played almost 500 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). Current head coach of the Stillwater Boys Varsity Hockey team in Minnesota.

Playing career Zanon played four seasons, from 1999 to 2003, for the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the CCHA and was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team in 2001. Zanon was drafted by the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the fifth round, 156th overall, in the 2000 NHL entry draft.

Unsigned by the Senators, Zanon played three seasons for the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League (AHL), an affiliate of the Nashville Predators. It was not until the 2005–06 season that he finally broke into the NHL, when he played four games for the Predators. Zanon rose in the NHL as a top player in the blocked shots statistic. He had 189 blocked shots in the 2007–08 NHL season.

On July 1, 2009, Zanon signed a three-year deal with the Minnesota Wild. His first season with the Wild in 2009–10 was largely successful, while proving a reliable physical force he also registered a career high 13 assists and 15 points in 81 games.

In the last year of his contract with the Wild in the 2011–12 season, Zanon fell out of favour and was relegated as a healthy scratch in seven games. He appeared in only 39 contests before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Boston Bruins for Steven Kampfer, on February 27, 2012.

On July 1, 2012, Zanon signed as a free agent to a two-year deal worth $4.5 million with the Colorado Avalanche. In the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Zanon made his Avalanche debut, recording an assist in an opening night defeat to the Minnesota Wild on January 19, 2013. As a fixture on the Avalanche defense, Zanon was unable to replicate his earlier puck-clearing career form; however, he finished the season to lead the team with 122 blocked shots in 44 games.

On July 3, 2013, the Avalanche placed Zanon, alongside Matt Hunwick, on waivers. Upon clearing waivers, the Avalanche then exercised the option to buy out the remaining year of his contract on July 4, 2013. As a result of the buyout, the Avalanche paid Zanon $1.5 million (two-thirds of his remaining salary) and he became an unrestricted free agent. Unable to attract an NHL offer as a free agent, Zanon signed a professional try-out contract with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. As an alternate captain for the Rampage, Zanon returned to the AHL for the first time since 2007.

On July 8, 2014, Zanon was signed as a free agent by the Florida Panthers of the NHL to a one-year, two-way contract. He returned to the Panthers' AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. As team captain, Zanon appeared in 74 games and contributed offensively with his highest points total in 10 years with 23. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, Zanon ended his professional career after 12 seasons.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1996–97 Victoria Salsa BCHL 53 4 13 17 124 — — — — — 1997–98 Victoria Salsa BCHL 59 11 21 32 108 7 0 2 2 10 1998–99 South Surrey Eagles BCHL 59 17 54 71 154 10 5 7 12 22 1999–2000 University of Nebraska Omaha CCHA 42 3 26 29 56 — — — — — 2000–01 University of Nebraska Omaha CCHA 39 12 16 28 64 — — — — — 2001–02 University of Nebraska Omaha CCHA 41 9 16 25 54 — — — — — 2002–03 University of Nebraska Omaha CCHA 32 6 19 25 44 — — — — — 2003–04 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 62 4 12 16 59 22 2 6 8 31 2004–05 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 80 2 17 19 59 7 0 1 1 10 2005–06 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 71 8 27 35 55 21 1 7 8 24 2005–06 Nashville Predators NHL 4 0 2 2 6 — — — — — 2006–07 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 2 0 2 2 0 — — — — — 2006–07 Nashville Predators NHL 66 3 5 8 32 5 0 2 2 2 2007–08 Nashville Predators NHL 78 0 5 5 24 6 0 2 2 4 2008–09 Nashville Predators NHL 82 4 7 11 38 — — — — — 2009–10 Minnesota Wild NHL 81 2 13 15 36 — — — — — 2010–11 Minnesota Wild NHL 82 0 7 7 48 — — — — — 2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 39 2 4 6 14 — — — — — 2011–12 Boston Bruins NHL 17 1 1 2 4 7 0 1 1 0 2012–13 Colorado Avalanche NHL 44 0 6 6 28 — — — — — 2013–14 San Antonio Rampage AHL 24 0 4 4 34 — — — — — 2014–15 San Antonio Rampage AHL 74 3 23 26 42 3 0 0 0 4 AHL totals 313 17 85 102 249 53 3 14 17 69 NHL totals 493 12 50 62 230 18 0 5 5 6

Awards and honours Award Year All-CCHA Rookie Team 1999–00 CCHA All-Tournament Team 2000 All-CCHA First Team 2000–01 CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman 2000–01 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2000–01 All-CCHA Second Team 2001–02 AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2001–02