Rangers In No Hurry To Buy Out DeAngelo

Are the New York Rangers going to buy out the contract of defenseman Tony DeAngelo? Probably. Are the Rangers going to buy out DeAngelo’s pact soon? Probably not.

While it absolutely makes sense to get out from under the contract of the controversial and no longer wanted rearguard, the NHL betting among hockey insiders is that new Rangers general manager Chris Drury won’t be in any hurry to make a decision about when to pull the trigger and initiate a DeAngelo buyout.

Team sources told veteran Rangers beat writer Larry Brooks of the New York Post that the Blueshirts are unlikely to officially cut ties with the exiled blueliner until after the incoming Seattle Kraken claim their expansion draft booty from the other NHL teams on July 21. That would still leave a six-day window until the initial buyout opportunity expires on July 27.

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Exposing DeAngelo

Under the rules for the NHL expansion draft, the other 30 clubs - the Vegas Golden Knights have been granted an exemption from the draft - must make available at least one defenseman who is under contract in 2021-22 and played in at least 40 NHL games the prior season or played in at least 70 NHL games in the prior two seasons.

Expectations are that the Rangers will protect defensemen Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren. Adam Fox, K’Andre Miller and Zac Jones are exempt from the draft as players with less than three years pro experience. Libor Hajek is currently a restricted free agent without a contract for next season, leaving him ineligible for the draft.

That leaves DeAngelo and Anthony Bitetto as the only Rangers defensemen who fill the requirements necessary to be exposed in the expansion draft. While it’s unlikely that the Rangers would trade Bitetto prior to the draft, by hanging on to the unwanted DeAngelo in the short term, it buys Drury an expansion draft insurance policy.

What A DeAngelo Buyout Will Save The Club

DeAngelo has one year remaining on a contract that would pay him $5.3 million next season. It comes with a cap hit of $4.8 million.

A one-third buyout of the 25-year-old’s contract would carry a $383,333 dead cap charge for 2021-22 and an $833,333 penalty during the ensuing season.

Unless the unexpected happens and Seattle opts to claim DeAngelo in the NHL expansion draft, look for the Rangers to buy out the defenseman’s contract prior to the expiration of the July 27 buyout window.

"Tony DeAngelo" by NHL is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Exiled In January

Originally a first-round draft choice of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014, DeAngelo, 25, never played in Tampa Bay. Oddly enough, he was dealt to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2016 second-round pick that the Lightning used to select Hajek, another current member of the Rangers rearguard.

Arriving on Broadway in 2017, the Rangers looked to have hit the jackpot in DeAngelo’s third season with the club. He potted 15 goals and compiled 53 points in 68 games during the 2019-20 campaign. That point total placed him fourth among NHL defenseman.

However, there was another jackpot that DeAngelo frequently put the Rangers in through his controversial and often combative social media presence. Although he was cautioned several times by Rangers officials to lower his online profile, the team seemed willing to put up with this dark side of DeAngelo’s character as long as he was producing on the ice.

Last season, though, his numbers fell off dramatically. He opened the season collecting one assist in six games while posting a minus-six rating. The final straw came following a Jan. 30 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. A mixup or some sort of miscommunication between DeAngelo and goalie Alex Georgiev kept the puck in play and led to Pittsburgh’s winning goal in a 5-4 overtime victory.

According to sources that were witness to the altercation, it was a remark from DeAngelo to Georgiev that triggered the outburst. Miller stepped in to break up the battle.

As they left the ice, Georgiev and DeAngelo got into an altercation in the tunnel en route to the Rangers dressing room. The next day, the Rangers placed DeAngelo on waivers. When he went unclaimed and they couldn’t find any takers in the trade market, the club put DeAngelo on the taxi squad for the remainder of the season and he didn’t play another game.

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