Controversial former Rangers defenseman clears air about Broadway tenure
Former New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo had a tumultuous ending to his four seasons on Broadway that’s made him a target of the Blueshirts Faithful. His returns to Madison Square Garden, like during the Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, frequently are met with boos and expletive-laden chants.
DeAngelo discussed his turbulent downfall with the Rangers during the 2020-21 season and tried to set the record straight when he appeared on the Morning Cuppa Hockey program Wednesday.
Clearly, DeAngelo still isn’t happy with how a postgame physical altercation with goalie Alexandar Georgiev was handled by the Rangers. Though, it should be noted, the 28-year-old does understand his role and fault in what happened.
“It was just, to me, one of them situations where if I would’ve done the right thing from the start, from the beginning of training camp, none of that probably would have happened. But it did,” said a reflective DeAngelo. “The only part I regret is what happened after — how out of control it got — that we weren’t able to get ahead of it in a quicker way where people could’ve got to the truth.”
The incident took place on Jan. 30, 2021, in the season that began late due to the coronavirus pandemic. DeAngelo and Georgiev had a miscommunication on who should play the puck in overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Shortly afterward, Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal in a 5-4 Rangers loss. Heading back to the dressing room at The Garden, DeAngelo and Georgiev exchanged words before things got physical.
“Obviously there’s way more to it than just the incident with ‘Georgie’ at the end of the year,” DeAngelo explained. “Rewind a little bit; that was during the election — President transition — I had gotten in some trouble about some questionable tweets I made that offended some people, offended season ticket holders, all that stuff which, once again, totally understood.”
That was followed by a season-opening loss to the New York Islanders when DeAngelo took what he perceived to be a weak holding penalty on Mat Barzal and slammed the door of the penalty box, receiving an extra two minutes of penalty time to the displeasure of coach David Quinn.
“‘Quinnie’ and I disagreed about it. I wind up sitting the next two games, so the season starts out a little bit rocky, unfortunately, and that was due to my fault,” DeAngelo admitted. “I wasn’t handling that very well at the time.”
DeAngelo returned to the lineup, but his outburst against Georgiev two weeks later proved to be the final straw. He only played six games that season for the Rangers after being placed on waivers and going unclaimed after that Penguins game.
“You fast forward to the Georgie incident, which was probably the least worrisome incident out of all of them, but I guess just the icing on the cake.”
DeAngelo went on to explain his perspective of the altercation that resulted in his release.
“It was a tough game. He struggled, I struggled in the game. We’re playing against Pittsburgh, going down the tunnel, I yelled at Georgie. ‘Make a bleeping save.’ So if I didn’t yell at Georgie, Georgie wasn’t gonna turn around and do anything. That’s a fact. So obviously I started it. Georgie’s running hot after the game and he turns around and fires a headbutt at me.”
DeAngelo responded by slapping Georgiev’s mask with his stick and the fight was quickly broken up.
“I had a feeling something was gonna come there. I thought I was gonna get traded, to be honest with you,” DeAngelo said. “It wasn’t a total shock that I was gonna be out of there at that point cause the season started off so rocky — and a lot of it being my fault.”
DeAngelo added that he’s since crossed paths with Georgiev and the two are in a fine spot, albeit not the closest of friends.
“I never blamed [Georgiev] as far as that, that was just heat of the moment. What I blame is what happened after, how it was a bit of a 180 as far as how things were handled with each individual,” DeAngelo explained, referring to the fact that Georgiev remained with the Rangers until the end of the 2021-22 season, after which he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. “But I knew there was stuff beforehand that I put myself in a tough spot. That incident there was honestly the least of my worries, but it was the most public thing that came out that blew up.”
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Former Rangers defenseman refutes incident with K’Andre Miller
Georgiev was not the only player rumored to have tension with DeAngelo, who also addressed reports of bad blood between himself and then-rookie defenseman K’Andre Miller in 2020-21.
“What bugged me the most was the stories that came out about K’Andre — that idiot wrote that story, it was so stupid,” DeAngelo said, referring to a story by Adam Herman of Bleacher Report in the days following his incident with Georgiev. “What happened, though, was those stories trended so much and had so many clicks and views that people are gonna believe them when they see it. That’s just the power of the media.”
Herman reported from an external source that DeAngelo stole the puck from Miller’s first NHL goal and that there were internal concerns about DeAngelo’s treatment of his Black teammate.
ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, as well as all parties involved, were quick to refute the story — but that didn’t stop it from becoming part of the complicated saga for DeAngelo.
“It just blew way out of control,” DeAngelo said. “Everyone was looking for something big, I guess we gave it to them. They just bugged me, the stories that came out, they were so far-fetched and almost like viciously made up, And the crazy part is, it had a big effect on what happened that year and I obviously went unclaimed.”
DeAngelo added that he reached out to Miller after the report surfaced and noted that the two had a nice exchange and were able to put the story to bed.
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DeAngelo’s unceremonious exit and reports of locker room drama have made him an easy target for Blueshirts fans, most recently displayed in the second round of the playoffs this past spring.
“The fans’ passion, I think, is hilarious. I was the same way growing up,” DeAngelo chuckled. “Contrary to what the Rangers fans think, I think it actually helps my game. I love it. I think it’s great.”
There was a time that DeAngelo was a successful and popular player with the Rangers, before everything unraveled. After DeAngelo, the No. 19 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, was acquired by the Rangers from the Arizona Coyotes in a summer of 2017 deal that included Derek Stepan and Antti Rantta leaving New York and a first-round pick heading East, the defenseman had some big years with the Blueshirts.
DeAngelo made his Rangers debut that fall, but broke out two seasons later, finishing 12th in Norris Trophy voting with 15 goals and 53 points in 68 games during the 2019-20 season. That earned him a two-year, $9.6 million extension after he finished with the fourth-most points among NHL defensemen.
The Rangers paid him for playing only six games in 2020-21 and then bought out the rest of his contract. He went on to post 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) for the Hurricanes in 2021-22 and 42 points (11 goals, 31 assists) for the Philadelphia Flyers the following season. He was back in Carolina as the seventh defenseman last season, returning to a regular role after Brett Pesce was injured in the playoffs.
Now, he’s still searching for an NHL job and recent reports link him to possibly signing in the KHL.
It should be noted that his behavioral incidents in New York were not an isolated incident.
Reports of issues date back as far as 2014, when he was suspended multiple times in the OHL for altercations with both referees and teammates. DeAngelo was suspended three games during his rookie season for assaulting a referee as a member of the Coyotes. On top of repeated on-ice incidents, he’s become a polarizing figure due to some of his aforementioned political commentary.
But DeAngelo doesn’t seem overly bothered about his public perception and seems to be generally well-received by teammates, including the likes of Adam Fox and Pesce, who were mentioned to be strong supporters of their former teammate during the interview.
“I’ve had a couple of tough years unfortunately, but the one thing that I’ve always been happy about is that I’ve always been a good teammate, ” DeAngelo reflected. “Sometimes I’ve been tough on teammates, 100 percent — but off the ice and on the ice when they were in need, I’ve always been a good teammate. When it’s all said and done, that’s more important to me — the relationship I have with guys than what other people are gonna be saying about me.”
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