Gregory M. Zanon (born June 5, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played almost 500 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Greg Zanon was drafted in the fifth round, 156th overall, in the

2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. T ...

by the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

. He played four seasons, from 1999 to 2003, for the

University of Nebraska at Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

in the CCHA and was named to the CCHA First All-Star Team in 2001. Unsigned from the Senators, Zanon played three seasons for the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

, an affiliate of the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. It wasn't until the 2005–06 season that he finally broke into the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, 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 The 2007–08 NHL season was the 91st season of operation (90th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It began on September 29, 2007, and the regular season ended April 6, 2008. The Stanley Cup playoffs ended on June 4, with the ...

. On July 1, 2009, Zanon signed a three-year deal with the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. 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 7 games. He appeared in only 39 contests before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

for Steven Kampfer, on February 27, 2012. GregZanonBruins

On July 1, 2012, Zanon signed as a free agent to a two-year deal worth $4.5 million with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

. In the lockout-shortened

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

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 Matthew John Hunwick (born May 21, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins ...

, 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 (being 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 The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...

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 A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

Zanon was returned to continue with AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. As team captain, Zanon appeared in 74 games and contributed offensively with his highest points totals in 10 years with 23. At the conclusion of the 2014–15 season, Zanon ended his professional career after 12 seasons.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zanon, Greg 1980 births Living people Boston Bruins players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Colorado Avalanche players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Milwaukee Admirals players Minnesota Wild players Nashville Predators players Omaha Mavericks men's ice hockey players Ottawa Senators draft picks San Antonio Rampage players Sportspeople from Burnaby Victoria Salsa players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans