Just over one year after being acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers for three draft picks, defenseman Tony DeAngelo has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout, per Flyers general manager Daniel Brière.
Per CapFriendly, DeAngelo will count for $1,666,667 against the Flyers’ books for this season and next season.
The Flyers had a deal in place to send DeAngelo back to Carolina. The reported deal would have apparently seen the Flyers retaining 50% of DeAngelo’s salary ($2.5 million) and receiving forward prospect Massimo Rizzo in return. DeAngelo’s contract would have expired after the 2023-24 season.
The deal had been agreed upon for some time, but the NHL believed the Flyers and Hurricanes were somehow circumventing the salary cap, forcing Brière and Hurricanes GM Don Waddell to wait before making things official, but Brière was clearly tired of waiting.
The Hurricanes have been recently linked to Sharks defenseman and Norris Trophy recipient Erik Karlsson in trade rumors, which may have explained the holdup on Carolina’s side.
In 70 games with Philadelphia this past season, DeAngelo scored 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points to accompany a -27 rating and 73 penalty minutes.
Former general manager Chuck Fletcher brought in DeAngelo last offseason to try and help stabilize the Flyers’ blueline. After the injury to top-pair defender Ryan Ellis and a lack of offense from the defensive corps after Shayne Gostisbehere was traded, the Flyers figured they could kill two birds with one stone in DeAngelo, and that didn’t exactly work out at planned.
Despite his offensive abilities, DeAngelo was a liability in the defensive zone and head coach John Tortorella called numerous times for DeAngelo to work on his defensive game. His play earned him a few healthy scratches from the lineup, including sitting in the press box for the final 5 games of the season.
DeAngelo also earned a two-game suspension after a March 7th incident against the Tampa Bay Lightning in which he speared Lightning forward Corey Perry in the groin. In total, DeAngelo only played in 15 of Philadelphia’s last 22 games down the stretch, pretty much putting a wrap on his time with the club in short order.
With DeAngelo out of the picture, the Flyers’ blueline currently consists of Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler, Sean Walker, and Marc Staal, with prospects such as Ronnie Attard, Egor Zamula, and Emil Andrae knocking on the door for roster spots.
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