The Rangers may have changed management and coaching staff, but the expectation that the Rangers will buy out defenseman Tony DeAngelo from his final contract year remain.

Suspended since an altercation with goaltender Alexandar Georgiev on January 31st, following a 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins, in which the pair had a mix-up that lead to the game winning goal, DeAngelo’s official tenure with his third NHL franchise appears near an end.

Following the awarding of the Stanley Cup to the Tampa Bay Lightning last night, the NHL officially progresses into the first phase of the off-season, with the first contract buy-out window 24 hours after the completion of the finals.

Teams are required to expose one eligible defenseman under contract, and with Anthony Bitteto meeting that criter, the Rangers are not required to hold onto DeAngelo any longer, and have the option of buying him out now, which would also help the player attempt to negotiate a contract elsewhere.

Following the changes in the front office, and behind the bench, there was some speculation that DeAngelo might get another chance.  However, the Norris winning season by Fox, would have all but eliminated DeAngelo from his productive first-unit PP time, and his defensive game is not strong enough to push for a spot.

When you also consider the pipeline of prospective blueliners that include Zac Jones, Nils Lundkvist, Braden Schneider, Matthew Robertson as well as perhaps Hunter Skinner and Tarmo Reunanen, there was unlikely going to be much room for him beyond this season.

Even with all the baggage, it seems there might be enough interest out there for DeAngelo to earn another chance elsewhere, and while a team was not willing to trade an asset for him, there might be one or two who’d be willing to come to terms with him.