New York Rangers: Trouble ahead for Tony DeAngelo
By Steve Paulus
Tony DeAngelo is having a career year for the New York Rangers. His timing is great and it will result in a big payday this summer and that will be a headache for the Blueshirts.
The New York Rangers are paying close attention to what salaries other NHL teams are awarding their young players. The latest to join the ranks of players inked to long-term deals is Marcus Pettersson of the Pittsburgh Penguins and his payday may mean headaches for the Blueshirts.
Tony DeAngelo will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer. That means the leverage the Rangers is gone, unlike last summer when he was forced to sign a one year deal for $925k. If they cannot agree on a contract extension, they will go to arbitration and he can ask for millions and the Rangers will have to fork over whatever the arbitrator decides is fair.
The New York Rangers cap situation has been well documented. They currently have $17.4 million in cap space if the ceiling remains the same. $19.5 million if it goes up the same two million it went up last summer. That’s $19.5 million to cover new contracts for DeAngelo, Ryan Strome, Alexandar Georgiev and Brendan Lemieux and to replace UFA’s Chris Kreider, Jesper Fast and Greg McKegg.
The big question is how much is Tony DeAngelo worth and the Marcus Pettersson signing Monday was an indication that he won’t be cheap. The Penguins signed defenseman Pettersson to a five-year extension for over $20 million. That works out to an annual average salary (AAV) of $4.025 million. Why is this an issue? It’s worth looking at Pettersson.
Who is Marcus Pettersson?
Pettersson is a 23-year old lefthanded shooting defenseman who was drafted by Anaheim in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins traded for Pettersson, sending the Ducks forward Daniel Sprong in December 2018.
Pettersson’s top offensive year was last season when he had two goals and 25 points split between Anaheim and Pittsburgh. This year he has one goal and 15 points in 50 games and while not the offensive force as DeAngelo, he is playing over 19 minutes per game and has steadied the Penguins blueline.
Compare that to DeAngelo. At 24, he is six months older than Pettersson. He is a former first round pick and this season he has scored 12 goals and 37 points in 48 games. DeAngelo has three times as many goals this season than Pettersson has scored in two and a half NHL campaigns. Questions about the Blueshirt’s consistency have been answered this year as he is in his second straight solid season. He is a righthanded shot and that makes him even more valuable.