Some options for Tony DeAngelo and his salary cap hit

The New York Rangers and Tony DeAngelo have parted ways.  He is still under contract, but he has played his last game for the team and now it is up to Jeff Gorton to come up with a solution that will impact the Rangers’ cap situation in the best way possible.

In a salary cap constrained NHL, the goal of every general manager is to get assets for the least amount of money so Gorton’s mission will be the opposite of all of his cohorts.  There are several options for Gorton, none of them great because he is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to dealing DeAngelo.  He has a player he has to unload and everyone knows it.  That’s known as a buyer’s market. Here are his options.

A  trade, the best option

In the best possible world, Gorton finds a team that is willing to take a gamble on DeAngelo.  It would have to be a team with $4.8 million in cap space and a need for a right shot defenseman who can quarterback a power play and are will to overlook DeAngelo’s “issues.” There are not a lot of teams out there that fit those requirements.

If they are lucky enough to find one, what could Gorton expect to get in return?  Not much.

Cap savings: 2021-22 = $4.8 million,  2022-23 = $4.8 million

A retained salary trade

Gorton will have a much better chance of finding a taker in a trade if the Rangers are willing retain part of DeAngelo’s salary. The rules allow a team to retain 50% of a player’s salary in a trade so if that’s the deal, they will still  be on the hook for $2.4 million this year and next year.

The question is what the Rangers could get in return in a trade.  It could be a player or the proverbial future considerations.

Cap savings: 2021-22 = $2.4million,  2022-23 = $2.4million

A bad contract swap

The Rangers could potentially find a taker for DeAngelo in a team that is sitting on a bad contract that they want to get out of.   This would be similar to the inclusion of Matt Beleskey in the Rick Nash trade in 2018.   The Bruins wanted out of Beleskey’s contract and the Rangers took it on though in that deal it was the Bruins who retained some of the salary.  There’s no way of knowing how a deal like this would go down.

Cap savings: 2021-22 = unknown, 2022-23 = unknown

Bury him in the minors

NHL teams have the option of assigning a player to the minor leagues, fundamentally burying him in the AHL.    There isn’t great savings when that happens.  In DeAngelo’s case the Rangers would  get $1.075 million in cap relief, but would still be on the hook for the rest of his contract.

There’s also the question of whether the Rangers would even want a player that they believe is toxic to the organization playing in their minor league system.

Cap savings: 2021-22 = $1.075 million,  2022-23 = $1.075 million

A buyout

If the Rangers end up burying him in the minor leagues they could then  buy him out when the season is over.  A  buyout would cost the Rangers $883,333 for each of the next two seasons, but would represent a savings of almost $4 million in 2021-22 and an additional  cap hit of $883,333 in 2022-23.

Cap savings: 2021-22 = $1.075 million,  2022-23 = $3.725 million
New cap hit:  2023-24 = $883,333

A loan and trade

This is an interesting option that Gorton may consider.  He could bury DeAngelo in the minors, but with a team other than Hartford as the Rangers would loan him to another organization, but still pay his salary. That way, the defenseman could play in the AHL and use the time to rebuild his reputation.  If he could restore his reputation and do well, Gorton may find a contender in need of reinforcements willing to trade for him for his full salary or in a retained salary deal.

Another interesting option would be if there was a team in Europe that would want DeAngelo this season. They could loan him to a team in the KHL or any of the other leagues in Europe and he could play regularly and rebuild his value. Then, Gorton could try to find a trade partner.

Cap savings: 2021-22 = $1.075 million
2022-23 = $4.8 million in straight trade
2022-23 = $2.4 million in retained salary trade

It’s not just Gorton

While Jeff Gorton has an incentive to move Tony DeAngelo, there is one person with a greater interest.  That would  be Pat Brisson, DeAngelo’s agent.  Brisson is one of the top agents in hockey and he will no doubt work to get the best possible outcome for his client . It’s already been reported that Brisson has been in touch with Gorton and is working on finding a trading partner.  If they cannot find someone willing to trade for him, he may push the European option as a means of getting DeAngelo being seen as a positive.

Gorton is already saddled with almost $13 million is dead money on their payroll, mostly due to the buyouts of Kevin Shattenkirk and Henrik Lundqvist.  Add DeAngelo’s $4.8 million and they would be paying almost $18 million to players not on the team.  That’s over 20% of the total salary cap.  Think how the Rangers could have improved their roster if they had that money to spend.

For now, DeAngelo is officially on the taxi squad,but the Rangers have stated that he won’t go near the team. He will be in limbo while Gorton and Brisson try to find a deal.  If they are not successful soon, some of the other strategies outlined here may become realistic options.