There was a physical altercation between Tony DeAngelo and Alex Georgiev outside the locker room after Saturday’s 5-4 defeat in overtime for the Penguins at the Garden which was the trigger for the team that ranked number 77 by resignation, confirmed a source close to the team. to the Post.
DeAngelo was on the ice for the overtime goal, as well as for the Penguins’ first three goals at five against five. There was an accident – or communication failure between the goalkeeper and the defender – that kept the puck alive before the goal scored by Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin for more than two minutes.
There was also questionable body language from DeAngelo as it deviated from the net after each of Pittsburgh’s first two scores.
DeAngelo is on regular exemptions as opposed to unconditional exemptions, the Post has learned. According to the CBA, the placement and compensation of unconditional layoffs is necessary for a team to terminate a player’s contract.
There appears to be an exception, according to Section 14 of the Standard Players Agreement which states: “The Club may also terminate this SPC [Standard Player’s Contract] upon written notification to the Player (but only after obtaining Exemptions from all other Clubs) if the Player, at any time: a) fails, neglects or refuses to comply with the Club rules governing the training and conduct of the Players if such failure, refusal or negligence must constitute a material breach of this SPC. “
It is unclear whether the Rangers will claim that the Saturday night incident reaches the level of a material breach. In that case, the NHLPA and DeAngelo camp would be expected to contest this charge. The defender is represented by Pat Brisson.
Exemptions at DeAngelo expire at noon on Monday. It is unlikely, after a period of off-season in which the Blueshirts failed to scare a willing commercial partner, that any team would claim the defender, who is eight games away in the first season of a two-year contract that brings an reached annual limit of $ 4.8 million.
It seems impossible, however, for the Rangers to keep DeAngelo close to the team, sending him to the taxi squad. For limit purposes, the Rangers would gain relief from just $ 1.075 million if DeAngelo was off the NHL list. It also seems unlikely that they would want him to skate and play for the Wolf Pack.
Sum and substance, all signs point to DeAngelo’s time in New York having expired in a fire of controversy, even though the details to finalize the divorce are unclear. Maybe that’s how it should always end. This seems to be a situation from which there is no turning back.
Asking layoffs from a 25-year-old who was the fourth highest-scoring NHL defender last season with 53 points (15-38) while driving a powerful game that reached almost 30 percent after Christmas is, after all, quite extreme . You don’t do that because one player is less than three in a game, as DeAngelo did on Saturday.
In addition to DeAngelo’s questionable body language on Saturday, there was evidence that DeAngelo did not react to being scratched in the second and third games of the season with an especially constructive or positive attitude. It probably didn’t help that he was removed from the first power play unit for a few games until he was restored to the refurbished PP1 on Thursday in Buffalo.
DeAngelo came to the Arizona Rangers on the 2017 draft day with the seventh overall choice (which ended up being Lias Andersson, who has since been traded) in exchange for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta. Baggage was attached to the defender’s resume, with him being suspended twice at OHL for violating the league’s harassment, abuse and diversity policy. He was traded within a year by Lightning, which selected him in 19th overall place in the 2014 draft.
The restless presence of the South Jersey native on social media has made him a lightning rod among the fan base. There have been numerous conversations between the administration and the DeAngelo camp about the defender’s wisdom in reducing his profile off the ice. They were irritating to the hierarchy, but they didn’t seem to become distractions or unpleasant problems within the room.
It is not clear what the administration’s next step will be if DeAngelo does this. Blueshirts may not have the right to simply send you home and continue to deposit your bimonthly paychecks directly if they cannot place you in another organization.
It seems, however, quite clear that DeAngelo has exhausted his reception in New York.