KEY POINTS

  • The Rangers will buy out Tony DeAngelo once the current NHL season wraps up
  • A spat with Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev is seen as one of the reasons why the Rangers want to let him go
  • The Montreal Canadiens are among the NHL teams interested in DeAngelo

Tony DeAngelo’s time with the New York Rangers is up.

An offer to terminate his contract was reportedly made, but the 25-year-old defenseman thumbed it down. Had he agreed, the native of New Jersey would have had the chance to become a free agent after passing waivers.

Had DeAngelo agreed to mutually terminate the contract, he would have had a chance to join the Montreal Canadiens, a team reportedly interested in acquiring his services.

With the developments, it appears he is willing to wait until the offseason before he suits up for another team.

DeAngelo and the Rangers agreed to a two-year deal that would pay the defenseman an annual salary of $4.8 million.

But it seems things have gone sour between the two sides with DeAngelo placed on waivers since January due to a reported altercation with goalie Alexandar Georgiev following a loss.

It appears that New York has had enough of DeAngelo with general manager Jeff Gorton stating that the New Jersey native has played his last game as a Ranger back in January.

The defenseman only has an assist to show in six games this season for the Rangers. Over 206 career games with the Arizona Coyotes and New York, DeAngelo has 24 goals and 82 assists.

“There’s always rumors, so I’m not going to address rumors,” Rangers coach Dan Quinn stated in a report from the New York Post. “This isn’t about one incident, it’s not about one thing. This is a situation the organization felt was best at this current time. We’ll see how the situation plays out."

Henrik Lundqvist New York Rangers 2015
The New York Rangers hope top goalie Henrik Lundqvist, middle, rounds into form ahead of their first round playoff matchup with the Pittsburgh Pengins. Reuters

DeAngelo has a history of poor behavior, and it seems that the altercation involving Georgiev was the last straw.

He finished fourth in scoring among defensemen in 2019-20 with 53 points through 68 games but may have to continue his NHL tenure somewhere else starting next season.

Aside from Montreal, other teams linked to DeAngelo include Anaheim, Nashville, Minnesota, Colorado, and Calgary.

All teams need a top defender, and he could be a vital piece. Unless the Rangers retract their plans, expect one of these teams to come knocking on DeAngelo’s door after the current season.

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