While Tony DeAngelo’s larger hockey future -- in the NHL or otherwise -- remains unsettled after he cleared waivers, GM Jeff Gorton confirmed that DeAngelo played his last game for the New York Rangers.
From there, Gorton and team president John Davidson discussed other reports and rumors surrounding DeAngelo and his conduct toward Rangers teammates, from K’Andre Miller to Alexandar Georgiev.
Why the Rangers moved on from Tony DeAngelo
When it comes to understanding why the Rangers said goodbye to Tony DeAngelo, you must sift through the on-ice and off-ice details. Some might say that the balance of his on-ice work (bad defense, good-but-maybe-not-good-enough offense) could no longer justify dealing with the off-ice stuff.
Of course, many would argue that the Rangers never should have put up with DeAngelo’s off-ice/interpersonal conduct.
W/ Tony DeAngelo’s NHL future up in the air, it’s worth talking about how the New York Rangers enabled & promoted him the past 4 yrs, despite knowing his history of racist comments & current problematic behaviour that includes COVID denials & that the American election is rigged.
— Salim Nadim Valji (@salimvalji) January 31, 2021
During Monday’s press conference, the Rangers put their spin on why they’re moving on from Tony DeAngelo. The Rangers’ discussion of DeAngelo’s dismissal comes back more to specifics.
For instance: the Rangers linger upon DeAngelo reacting poorly to an early-season healthy scratch. From there, a reported altercation between DeAngelo and goalie Alexandar Georgiev ended up being the final straw.
Gorton says DeAngelo "wasn't able to move on" from being healthy scratch for gms 2+3 of season after unsportsmanlike penalty. "I told him if his name came up in anything at all that he would be on waivers ...
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 1, 2021
"I felt like I had to stay true to my word, the organization's word."
Of course, Tony DeAngelo’s name has “come up” frequently on social media, even beyond his “Watch Your Tone” podcast. DeAngelo’s tendency to offend has been long known, and it stems from well before his time with the Rangers. For instance: he was suspended in the OHL for uttering slurs at his own teammate.
It’s difficult to imagine that such actions weren’t a “distraction” for the Rangers, but executives shied away from emphasizing that as the issue with DeAngelo.
John Davidson said the @NYRangers had "informal discussions" with Tony DeAngelo about his social media presence but that there is also "freedom of speech," which is a thing that doesn't apply here, but does in fact exist in other forms of society.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 1, 2021
The overall message from the Rangers cements the thought that DeAngelo was let go not just for toxic behavior, but also due to the decline in the quality of his play. It opens the door for criticisms like these.
Rangers deny details about K’Andre Miller first goal puck
The Rangers took steps to refute details about possible tension between DeAngelo and K’Andre Miller. ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shared John Davidson’s full comments:
The full statement by @NYRangers president John Davidson on @BlueshirtBanter report that Tony DeAngelo and K'Andre Miller didn't get along, and that DeAngelo stole the puck from Miller's first NHL goal. pic.twitter.com/fEK40xnVUh
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 1, 2021
Wyshynski also notes that there’s a lot of confusion regarding why there was no photo op with Miller and his first goal puck.
Overall ... that’s all getting deep into the weeds about a specific incident. Yet, even with the Rangers’ official comments, it wasn’t one single thing that pushed DeAngelo out the door. It wasn’t one single cringe-worthy Tweet, hot take, or boneheaded turnover.
And, whatever the exact catalyst was or catalysts were, the Rangers confirmed DeAngelo’s days are over with the franchise. We’ll need to wait and see if DeAngelo lands with another NHL team, or plies his trade somewhere else.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.
The Rangers kept Deangelo on their roster for years because, frankly, he was a valuable defenseman. Despite all of his serious and problematic issues, they committed to him because they only cared about his on-ice impact. This is how the NHL works. And it’s a major problem.
— EvolvingWild (@EvolvingWild) February 1, 2021
