Hurricanes ink DeAngelo to 1-year, $1M contract

The Carolina Hurricanes are signing unrestricted free-agent defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract worth $1 million, the team announced Wednesday.

"Tony is a smooth-skating, puck-moving defenseman," said general manager Don Waddell. "We've done a lot of background work on this player and we are confident that he can be a positive addition to our group."

The New York Rangers bought out DeAngelo's previous contract last week. He saw his 2020-21 season cut short significantly after he reportedly got into an altercation with former teammate Alexandar Georgiev following a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in January.

New York scratched DeAngelo multiple times due to poor performance before the reported altercation with Georgiev. Former Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said DeAngelo wasn't able to move past being scratched and that the blue-liner was already on thin ice with the organization before the reported incident.

DeAngelo has caused controversy throughout much of his hockey career. He was suspended twice for violating the OHL's harassment, abuse, and diversity policy during his junior days with the Sarnia Sting and was in one instance accused of using an offensive slur against a teammate.

The 25-year-old has also been scrutinized for his social media presence. DeAngelo has tweeted about COVID-19 being a hoax and the U.S. presidential election being rigged, but the Rangers said his online activity wasn't a factor in his dismissal from the club.

Selected 19th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014, DeAngelo has notched 106 points in 206 NHL games.

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