Anthony DeAngelo

Tony DeAngelo Out Weeks With Upper-Body Injury

February 24, 2022 at 11:45 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 11 Comments

The Carolina Hurricanes have had one of the most valuable defensive contracts in the league this season with Tony DeAngelo, signing him to a one-year, $1MM deal after his public exit from the New York Rangers. DeAngelo has been brilliant for the Hurricanes, racking up 40 points in 43 games while averaging close to 20 minutes a night. One of the most effective powerplay quarterbacks in the league, 15 of his 31 assists have come with the man advantage. Carolina will have to find a new player to run PP1, though, as DeAngelo will miss about a month with an injury according to head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who spoke with reporters including Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer.

For now, DeAngelo’s regular partner Jaccob Slavin has taken over the quarterback duties on the top unit, with Ethan Bear joining the second group. Slavin is a capable player but there should be at least some concern about him taking over the majority of the powerplay time, given how important he is in other areas. There’s no one in the league that has logged more short-handed ice time than Slavin, who has close to 170 minutes on the penalty kill through 48 games this season. Teams have scored just seven goals against the Hurricanes during that time, showing just how effective he is at it.

With that in mind, losing DeAngelo could have a sort of cascade effect on the Carolina blue line, putting players in spots that they aren’t perfectly suited for, or taxing the best defensive players even further. Brett Pesce has joined Slavin on the first pair, while Jalen Chatfield slides in beside Brady Skjei on the second. That’s certainly not a perfect situation, and one that will likely lead to more speculation as the trade deadline approaches. If DeAngelo is out for a month he might miss up to 14 of the team’s remaining 32 games, meaning a defensive addition may be necessary just to shore up the depth.

Of course, Carolina is one of many teams operating in long-term injured reserve relief space–this time afforded by Jake Gardiner’s chronic back issues–meaning any addition would have to be carefully determined.

League Notes: Nash, All-Star Events, DeAngelo

November 11, 2021 at 2:44 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The Columbus Blue Jackets will retire Rick Nash’s No. 61 on March 5, 2022, raising it to the rafters of Nationwide Arena. This will be the first number retired in Blue Jackets history, but certainly makes sense given Nash’s place on the club’s all-time leaderboards.

First in goals, assists, points, and games played, Nash was the original superstar for the club, winning the Rocket Richard Trophy in just his second season in the NHL. He would move on to New York and then Boston during a 15-year playing career, but returned to Columbus to work as a special advisor in 2019 and is now the team’s director of player development. Even if you weren’t a Blue Jackets fan, jaw-dropping moments like Nash’s goal against the Arizona Coyotes put the club on the national stage.

The league is considering two new All-Star events on the Las Vegas Strip, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. The upcoming All-Star festivities will be held in Las Vegas on February 4-5, and undoubtedly have some new flare thanks to the city that’s putting them on. The traditional skills competitions, Wyshynski reports, would still be held inside T-Mobile Arena and these new events would have a “Vegas touch to them.”
Tony DeAngelo has been issued a $2,000 fine for diving/embellishment, which is the penalty for the player’s second incident of the season. He was first issued a warning following an incident on October 31, and then received this fine for one on November 6. While this kind of fine doesn’t seem like much when compared to an NHL salary, upon a team’s fifth incident in one season, the head coach is also given a fine. It’s never good to take money from the pocket of the person who controls your ice time.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Tony DeAngelo

July 28, 2021 at 1:50 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 56 Comments

July 28: The contract has been officially announced by the Hurricanes. One year and $1MM for DeAngelo, who is still earning some of his salary from the Rangers as well. GM Don Waddell released a short statement about his newest defenseman:

Tony is a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman. We’ve done a lot of background work on this player and we are confident that he can be a positive addition to our group.

July 27: The Carolina Hurricanes are closing in on a one-year deal with recently bought-out defenseman Tony DeAngelo, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Seravalli notes that there was a lot of interest in DeAngelo, but that the opportunity to play for head coach Rod Brind’Amour was appealing to him. The deal is not yet signed and no financial details have been reported at this time.

It will create a public relations mess in Carolina to bring in DeAngelo, who was sent away from the Rangers organization this season after several incidents involving teammates. The last one was between DeAngelo and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, which led to the defensemen being placed on waivers. At the time, GM Jeff Gorton explained that it wasn’t just one incident that led to the decision, instead telling reporters that he had warned the defenseman “if his name came up in anything at all” he would find himself on waivers. DeAngelo cleared and would not play for the Rangers again.

While a trade was explored, DeAngelo declined a contract termination that would have allowed him to sign elsewhere last season, instead forcing the Rangers into a buyout this summer. He will earn one-third of the $5.3MM that was remaining on his contract with the Rangers after clearing unconditional waivers a few days ago, but should this deal go through, will now be able to collect a paycheck from the Hurricanes as well.

There isn’t anyone that doubts DeAngelo’s offensive ability, as the 25-year-old defenseman recorded 15 goals and 53 points in the 2019-20 season. He earned Norris Trophy votes that season after playing so well, which has always been the trade-off when it comes to him. Even going back to his junior career, DeAngelo has been embroiled in controversy with his teammates. Whether he can make that side of the game work in Carolina remains to be seen, but it appears as though the organization will try.

Tony DeAngelo, Lean Bergmann Placed On Unconditional Waivers

July 24, 2021 at 11:00 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 45 Comments

July 24: Both players have cleared, meaning they will become unrestricted free agents. Bergmann’s deal will be terminated and not carry a cap hit for the Sharks, while DeAngelo will be bought out.

July 23: Tony DeAngelo is expected to be placed on unconditional waivers today for the purpose of a contract buyout by the New York Rangers, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. Unlike players with no-movement clauses like Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and Keith Yandle, DeAngelo will have to wait a day for his buyout to become official. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Lean Bergmann from the San Jose Sharks is also on waivers. A Bergman buyout would cost the Sharks just $142,917 in 2021-22 and $138,750 in 2022-23, but actually doesn’t make much sense. He could also be on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a mutual termination of the final year of his entry-level contract, which would result in no cap penalty for the Sharks. Either way, Bergmann will also become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow.

Because he is still just 25 years old, the Rangers will be on the hook for just one-third of his remaining salary. That means the team will incur a cap penalty of $383,334 for the 2021-22 season and $883,334 for 2022-23.

It’s a rather small price to pay for the Rangers, though obviously it would have been much better if this situation never happened in the first place. The young defenseman scored 53 points in 68 games during the 2019-20 season, establishing himself as one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. A series of run-ins with teammates eventually broke the trust between player and organization, leading to his dismissal from the club for the majority of 2020-21.

A buyout was always the eventual outcome, though the Rangers took the time they had to make sure it was the only conclusion worth pursuing. Other teams could have had DeAngelo for a fraction of his on-ice worth, but obviously no one wanted the public relations headache that came along with it—or at least not while he still carried a $4.8MM cap hit.

Once bought out, DeAngelo will become an unrestricted free agent allowed to sign with any team.

Metropolitan Notes: Nedeljkovic, Oshie, DeAngelo

July 10, 2021 at 11:37 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 2 Comments

It was quite the season for Hurricanes goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. He cleared waivers to start the year and was expected to serve as their taxi squad netminder but an early injury to Petr Mrazek gave him an opportunity to play and he seized it, posting a league-best 1.90 GAA and a .932 SV% in 23 starts and was similarly stingy in the playoffs. Despite that, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that Carolina appears to be giving some consideration to not tendering Nedeljkovic a qualifying offer. It’s not that they don’t want to keep him but rather that they’re worried about what an arbitration award would be.

With just 29 career regular season appearances, there are few close comparables for Nedeljkovic although Jordan Binnington of St. Louis could be one with the similarities in career trajectories. He signed a two-year deal after his only full NHL campaign with an AAV of $4.4MM. That’s below the walkaway threshold of $4.538MM per PuckPedia (Twitter link) which could give them some pause. If the Hurricanes go that route, it doesn’t guarantee he’d leave but Nedeljkovic would certainly be an intriguing late addition to the UFA market.

Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Sabres, Buyouts, DeAngelo

July 7, 2021 at 7:09 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 16 Comments

Between new head coach Brad Larsen, promoted from his previous role as assistant, and newly hired assistants Pascal Vincent and Sylvain Lefebvre, the Blue Jackets will have a combined 15 seasons as NHL assistants, 13 seasons as AHL head coaches, 11 seasons as a junior head coaches, six seasons as AHL assistants, and over 1,200 NHL games played worth of experience behind the bench. The one thing they don’t have? Any experience as an NHL head coach. As Aaron Portzline writes for The Athletic, there is zero NHL head coach experience in the entire Columbus organization right now and while GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t worried, he also isn’t above addressing that issue. Kekalainen is at least considering adding an advisor to the coaching staff; a veteran NHL head coach to help guide Larsen and company through their first season with a the re-tooling Blue Jackets. Portzline believes that one name who could certainly be in the mix is Jacques Martin, as the 68-year-old with 16 seasons as an NHL head coach is believed to be looking for this type of role. Other candidates will also surely emerge if and when Columbus decides that they are officially looking to fill the position.

Did Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams tip his hand in a recent interview with Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic? Discussing his team’s rebuilding plans, Adams stated the following:

(Rasmus) Dahlin, (Dylan) Cozens, (Casey) Mittelstadt, these are very, very young players… And I’ve been energized about this young core of Sabres we have that are hungry and they want to be part of the solution. … These guys are proud to be Buffalo Sabres, they want to fix this and get this right, they want to move forward together. So that’s the young core that we’re working to build around.

Sure, these are all key pieces for the Sabres in their rebuild. However, Adams did not mention the likes of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, or Victor Olofsson, who are only marginally older than that group. His use of the words “proud to be Buffalo Sabres” and “want to be part of the solution” also feels purposeful, as if there are others on the team who are not and possibly that is why they are no longer part of the rebuild plans. While rumors have been swirling around Eichel and to some extent Reinhart as well, perhaps this is a real indication that Buffalo will be making major changes this summer.

The NHL’s buyout window opens 24 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded, which could be as early as later tonight. In anticipation, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli lists ten names (and some honorable mentions) who could be buyout candidates. While much of this is educated speculation, Seravalli does have a scoop on his No. 1 name on the list, New York Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. Seravalli reports that the Rangers officially finalized a plan to buyout DeAngelo last week, a move that has been a long time coming since he was placed on leave in January for off-ice conduct. What remains to be seen is when exactly the buyout will be executed. The Rangers don’t need DeAngelo for the upcoming Expansion Draft, with Anthony Bitetto meeting exposure criteria and not expected to be protected, however New York may want to leave him in case they are able to tempt the Seattle. Even if the Kraken don’t bite, DeAngelo’s skill is enough to make him an intriguing free agent this summer following his buyout, even after a year off and some character concerns.

East Notes: Tanev, Subban, DeAngelo, Lundkvist

May 8, 2021 at 2:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

The Penguins are optimistic that winger Brandon Tanev will be cleared to play for the start of the playoffs next week, notes Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The veteran has been dealing with upper-body injuries in the second half of the season with his latest one keeping him out for more than a month. However, he has resumed skating with the team in recent days which bodes well for his return. Tanev was in the midst of his best offensive season before the injury bug struck as he has seven goals and nine assists in 32 games this season while his physicality (he’s averaging over 4.3 hits per game which is the highest rate of his career) will be a welcome addition for the grittier postseason style.

Elsewhere in the East:

Although Devils defenseman P.K. Subban came off the COVID Protocol Related Absences List last Saturday, head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters including NHL.com’s Dan Rosen (Twitter link) that he still has not resumed skating and isn’t expected to play in New Jersey’s final two games this season. His year comes to an end with five goals and 14 assists in 44 games while averaging 22:22 per contest, second only to Damon Severson.
While Chris Drury wasn’t the GM for the Rangers at the time that Anthony DeAngelo was dismissed from the team, he won’t be overturning that decision, reports Larry Brooks of the New York Post. DeAngelo was sent home early in the year following an altercation with teammate Alexandar Georgiev and while there was believed to be some interest in him at the trade deadline, the defenseman declined the offer to terminate his contract to allow him to catch on elsewhere. He has one more year left at a $4.8MM AAV, one that is all but certain to head for a buyout this summer.
Also from Brooks’ column, contract talks are expected to pick up with defenseman Nils Lundkvist in the near future. The 20-year-old has had two productive seasons with Lulea of the SHL and is ready to make the jump to North America but when the Rangers fell out of the playoff race thereby effectively eliminating the need to get a deal done as soon as his season in Sweden came to an end, those were temporarily put on the back burner.

Anthony DeAngelo Declined Contract Termination

April 13, 2021 at 6:46 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 19 Comments

This past weekend, we saw former Devils winger Nikita Gusev accept a contract termination to give him a chance to catch on somewhere else to finish the season. While rare, there could have been a second one of these this year as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the Rangers approached defenseman Anthony DeAngelo about this scenario, noting that Montreal was among the teams interested in him if he was to become an unrestricted free agent. However, the blueliner declined and will instead be bought out this summer.

DeAngelo was waived in late January after an altercation with Alexandar Georgiev and after clearing, he was assigned to the taxi squad where he has remained ever since. However, he has not been with the team since then and while they were attempting to loan him to an AHL club last month, that clearly didn’t materialize.

While it may seem odd that DeAngelo turned down a chance to play again this season, there is definitely a financial component to consider. He would have had to walk away from the remainder of his $4.3MM salary this season. It would depend on when the termination was to occur to do an exact calculation but it would have been with somewhere around 30% of the season left, which works out to roughly a $1.29MM forfeiture. On top of that, he wouldn’t have collected any of his $5.3MM salary for next season. While it appears he could have had a chance to play elsewhere, that’s still a lot of money to walk away from.

Instead, as expected, the Rangers will buy him out this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent at that time. As a 25-year-old, he’ll only be entitled to one-third of the salary over two years instead of the standard two-thirds which means he’ll collect $1.767MM while New York will incur cap charges of $383K next year and $883K in 2022-23, per CapFriendly.

Snapshots: Ullmark, Beaulieu, Reaves, DeAngelo

April 12, 2021 at 10:39 am CDT | by Brian La Rose 1 Comment

While the Sabres aren’t expected to get a contract extension in place with Linus Ullmark today, they don’t intend to move him by today’s trade deadline, reports John Wawrow of the Associated Press (Twitter link). Instead, the team remains hopeful that they’ll be able to work out a new deal with the netminder before free agency opens up this summer. Ullmark has had a pretty successful year with Buffalo despite all of their struggles, posting a 2.64 GAA along with a .917 SV% in 19 starts this season. That has him positioned to land a nice increase on his current $2.6MM salary either from the Sabres or elsewhere this summer.

Elsewhere around the league:

The Jets have transferred Nathan Beaulieu to LTIR, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The defenseman had been ruled out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery earlier this month so it was a move that could have been done at any time. The placement adds another $1.15MM to Winnipeg’s LTIR pool, giving them just under $4.8MM in full-season cap hit that can be brought in. That said, that number could drop a bit if they recall Kristian Vesalainen back up from the taxi squad later today; that would push Winnipeg’s spending room to a little under $4MM.
Golden Knights winger Ryan Reaves won’t face any supplementary discipline for his hit on Coyotes defenseman Jordan Gross yesterday, reports David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The ruling appears to be that while there was definitely contact to the head, it was not the principal point of contact.
The Rangers aren’t expected to find a late trade partner for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, tweets Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The blueliner hasn’t played since clearing waivers and being dismissed from the team in early February. With another year left on his deal with a $4.8MM AAV (and a $5.3MM salary), he’s pretty much a lock to be bought out this summer.

Trade Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

April 1, 2021 at 9:13 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

We are now less than two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the New York Rangers.

The New York Rangers are a rebuilding team with a large assortment of promising, young pieces to build around. The team has been competitive this season, but is still a few pieces away from rounding out into a contender.

This is the description of a seller. The problem this poses to the Rangers: who are they supposed to sell? The roster is completely devoid of valuable impending free agents. Not one of New York’s UFA’s-to-be is at the top or even the middle of any buyer’s wish list. In a cap-strapped, expansion-affected, in-season trade market, the Rangers are also not going to make any major moves right now to shake up their roster or look to add those missing core pieces. The Rangers should be sellers; they simply have nothing to sell at this moment.

Record

16-15-4, .514, 6th in East Division

Deadline Status

Stand Pat (By Default)

Deadline Cap Space

$4.01MM in full-season space ($17.87MM at the deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: NYR 1st, BUF 3rd, NYR 3rd, OTT 4th, LAK 4th, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th
2022: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th

Trade Chips

A warning for the following: the word “chips” should be taken with a grain of salt – and nothing is worse than chips without enough salt. The Rangers’ trade chips are either under-seasoned or old and stale. New York could deal the whole bag for the trade capital equivalent of 99 cents. There is nothing to see here.

The most recognizable rentals on the New York roster are veteran defensemen Jack Johnson and Brandon Smith, two of the most maligned defenders in the NHL in recent years. Johnson has already cleared waivers without any takers, while Smith’s $4.35MM contract means he is unlikely to move.

Phil Di Giuseppe is the Ranger’s lone impending free agent forward on the NHL roster and their best available rental. The 27-year-old winger has eight points in 25 games, which isn’t anything special, but puts him on a 26-point full-season pace – a good value at just $700K. Di Giuseppe may not be a household name, but he has nearly 200 NHL games to his credit as well. Contenders could do worse for a cheap depth rental.

As for players with some term on their contracts, the Rangers could listen on forwards Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney, defenseman Anthony Bitetto, or veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid. However, they have to be wary of the Expansion Draft exposure requirements and the repercussions that moving any of these players would have. Especially at forward, where the team already dealt away Brendan Lemieux, moving another term forward is a shaky proposition.

Of course, the big name on the block in New York is defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. With more than enough talent to command a nice trade return on ability alone, the fact is that if a DeAngelo trade was going to happen, it likely would have already. Some teams are wary of his character concerns, while others are not comfortable with adding his $4.8MM cap hit to their 2021-22 payroll. Either way, DeAngelo seems likely to stay put in New York through the season until he can be used as Expansion Draft fodder and then bought out. DeAngelo is too good not to play in the NHL again, but it won’t be this year.

Others to Watch For: F Jonny Brodzinski ($700K, UFA), F Anthony Greco ($737.5K, 2022 UFA), F Patrick Newell ($792.5K, RFA), D Darren Raddysh ($700K, Group 6 UFA), D Mason Geertsen ($725K, 2022 UFA)

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks and Prospects – Read: Mid-to-late-round draft picks and C- or D-level prospects. Sorry, Rangers fans. This is not going to be an exciting deadline. This is the best you can hope for. Hold tight until the off-season and wait for GM Jeff Gorton to try to swing a blockbuster for a top-six center.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines