The Rangers lone remaining contract hold-out has agreed to a one year, $925,000 deal, ending a standoff that has seen him miss the first week of training camp. Tony DeAngelo tried to generate leverage over the Rangers after the team was forced to buy out Kevin Shattenkirk back in August, opening up questions about depth on the right side, but ultimately the Cap-constrained Rangers held the line and the defenseman will report to camp with the same deal that Brendan Lemieux agreed to 8 days ago.
DeAngelo was reportedly seeking a multi-year deal with a significant increase over the $863K -plus bonuses – he earned over the last three seasons. Last year represented hsi first full year without appearing in the AHL, and he put up a credible 4 goals and 26 assists in 61 appearances, setting career marks for games played, assists and points.
With question marks over whether rookie Adam Fox can make the transition to the NGL, and who might serve as a third right side defenseman in his absence, DeAngelo perhaps felt he had a position of strength from which to negotiate.
But with the Rangers heavily Cap constrained by big off-season acquisitions such as Artemi Panarin and Jacob Trouba, he was always going to find it tough to get the team to move. Even after the Shattenkirk buyout, the team had la projected $3-4M to fit both Lemieux and DeAngelo into the roster without being forced into additional moves.
Questions remain about DeAngelo’s maturity and ability to play with control, but last year was certainly a big step in the right direction. With the Rangers blueline in somewhat of a disarray, the young defender emerged as one of the few bright spots in a disappointing season.
Having missed eight days with the team, he’ll now be forced to quickly catch-up and perhaps could even be fighting for ice time with Fox, who has impressed so far with his opportunities.