The New York Rangers now have all of their restricted free agents in the fold, agreeing to terms with Tony DeAngelo on a one-year deal worth $925K. The Rangers held firm to an offer they had presented some time ago, meaning DeAngelo will need to prove his worth once again in order to land a bigger contract as an RFA again next year.
DeAngelo, 23, finally found his footing in the NHL last season, recording 30 points in 61 games for the Rangers and growing into arguably the team’s most effective right-handed defenseman. While that role will be diminished thanks to the acquisition of Jacob Trouba (and to a lesser degree, Adam Fox), there’s no reason to believe that DeAngelo will revert back to a part-time player moving forward. The 19th overall pick from 2014 always did have incredible skill, but things didn’t go well for him in Tampa Bay or Arizona in the early part of his career.
That upside is why the $925K contract is so surprising, especially in a summer where restricted free agents are landing huge contracts. Keeping his contract low was imperative for the Rangers though after they spent so much money on Trouba and Artemi Panarin, putting them right up against the salary cap ceiling to start the year. You can bet DeAngelo will be looking for a substantial raise if that point production continues, especially if he can stay healthy all season and play in more than 61 games for the first time in his career.
Great deal for NYR.This eases the urgency to address the Kreider situation in the near future.With that being said,the Rangers have an abundance of D men.I can see a trade down the road as the season progresses
Need to consider how to look at that comment – Staal isn’t by choice any longer, nor is Smith. If there was a way to move either of them, they would’ve done so already.