Is Tony DeAngelo on borrowed time?
The Rangers acquiring Adam McQuaid from the Boston Bruins just days before the start of camp tells the hockey world a number of things. First, the team’s front office did not entirely believe in the team’s right-handed shooting defenseman. Second, the situation with Tony DeAngelo may be reaching a critical mass.
If the Rangers were confident in DeAngelo to play a full season at the NHL level, they would not have gone out and added another player to the mix. The team still has failed to figure out what exactly the Sewell, New Jersey native can be at the NHL level.
The offensive side to DeAngelo’s game is exquisite, but whenever he’s on the ice, it’s essentially playing with four forwards because of his non-existent defensive instincts. Even when his defensive partner points out where he should physically be during play, he fails to cover the open space.
Going into his age 23 season, DeAngelo is running out of time to stick with his third NHL organization. If the defenseman has a bad training camp, he’d have to clear waivers to be sent to the AHL, meaning another organization would be able to claim him for the cost of his contract.