Canadiens' Marc Del Gaizo: One of a Host of Blue-Liners Who

Every season, the Montréal Canadiens have one of those call-ups that drifts past the headlines. A name flickers across the ticker, fans shrug, and that’s about it. This year’s version is Marc Del Gaizo—a left-shot defenceman who walks into the rink like he walked into every rink before: carrying his own sticks, keeping his head down, and getting on with the work.

He got called up to the big club - the Canadiens - today.

He’s not a “remember where you were when he signed” kind of guy. He’s more of a side-door arrival. You notice him only if you know what you’re looking for.

Del Gaizo’s Been on a Long Road Without Spotlights

Del Gaizo’s story doesn’t begin with hype or big-city flash. It starts in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. It’s pretty much a commuter town for people who work in New York City (about 30 miles away). And, it’s also pretty much the opposite of a hockey factory. Nashville picked him in the fourth round back in 2019. Hardly a “future franchise piece,” more of a “let’s see what he turns into.”

Everything since then has been him slowly turning into something.

He worked his way through the USHL in Muskegon, then grew into a steady presence at UMass. Nothing you’d carve into stone, but coaches trusted him because he played honest minutes and didn’t get rattled. If he had a calling card, it was reliability. While that might be the least glamorous trait in hockey, it is the kind that keeps depth players employed.

Del Gaizo’s AHL Seasons That Tell You Much About Who He Is

In Milwaukee, he built the same reputation. The offence came in waves, but the steadiness stayed. Younger prospects with fancier pedigrees passed him on the depth chart, but there he was hanging around. He was still working to improve the lineup, filling in whatever jobs he was asked to do, and still getting noticed by the only people who mattered: the coaching staff.

Last year, Nashville gave him his first real shot: He got into 46 NHL games. Two goals, nine points, and not much noise. But he didn’t sink. On a pretty mediocre Predators’ team, inexperienced and all, he put up a minus-3 of plus/minus. He hung in there. Sometimes surviving is its own kind of success.

What He Brings to Montréal

Now he’s in Montréal (or Laval, or between the two teams) on a one-year, two-way deal. And let’s not kid ourselves—he’s not here to leapfrog the prospects or push a top-four guy out of the picture. He’s been on the shuttle between Laval and the Bell Centre all season. Yet, in its own way, that’s something - it’s being noticed (again and again). Sort of like, if anything happens, you’re our insurance.

But when you watch him, you can see the value: calm touches, good reads, angles that keep trouble at arm’s length. Fact is, he’s a decent puck-mover who has shown some offense in the AHL. Montréal has plenty of movers and shakers on the back end. Xhekaj’s a physical storm, Guhle has range, Hutson has everything. It never hurts to have a guy who can settle the snow globe a little.

Perhaps Del Gaizo Is the Kind of Player Every Organization Needs

Will he play much this year? Probably not. But when injuries hit—and they always hit—Del Gaizo might sneak in for 10 or 12 games and give the Canadiens clean, uneventful minutes. Every team has a player like this whose name is among the first to be forgotten by fans. Because Coaches never do.

For the Canadiens, Marc Del Gaizo seems to be that guy.