Tony DeAngelo’s timing could not have been much better.
Just two weeks ago, the former New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman was playing with St. Petersburg in the Russian KHL. Just one day after playing 26 minutes in an overtime loss to Lokomotiv, DeAngelo and St. Petersburg mutually agreed to terminate his contract, allowing the 29-year-old to return back home to the United States.
On Friday, he was signed to a one-year deal by the New York Islanders. On Saturday night, he played 25 minutes in their 3-2 overtime win against his former team, the Hurricanes — stepping up to eat some major minutes after top-pairing defenseman Ryan Pulock left the game in the first minute with an injury.
“It’s huge,” DeAngelo said following his team debut. “Two weeks ago, it was something that looked not impossible, but pretty bleak. To get a chance to come home and be around family and then get a call and jump right into a lineup that quick, it’s good luck. I’m grateful, I’m fortunate… It’s just great to be back.
“It’s a great opportunity for me. I’m real grateful for it. As for the hockey, I’m not going to change my game. I’m still going to play with poise, patience, and confidence. The touches will come, but it was a good start tonight and a good win.”
The Islanders’ desperation to fill in a thin blue line gives DeAngelo another opportunity to stick around in the NHL. While there is no denying his talent, he has sometimes been viewed as controversial. He was cut by the Rangers in 2021 after he got into a physical altercation with teammate and goalie, Alexandar Georgiev. In juniors, he was suspended twice for hateful language and abusing on-ice officials. He has also made headlines in recent years for unabashed political views.
Any potential character concerns from an Islanders standpoint were dispelled following an in-person meeting between DeAngelo and general manager Lou Lamoriello, the veteran executive tasked with keeping his defense afloat after losing Mike Reilly, who is on LTIR after undergoing a heart procedure in November, and Noah Dobson, who is week-to-week with a leg injury.
“Injuries happen across the league. You don’t want to see anybody go down,” DeAngelo said. “A void opened up, and I just got back. The timing worked out. I got a chance to meet Lou and speak with Lou and get something done was real good for me. To be honest, after meeting him, I made my decision real quick on where I wanted to go. I like to seeing face-to-face, man-to-man. It’s what you want: Honesty. There was honesty on both sides.”
DeAngelo was honestly not “expecting those minutes,” in his debut on Saturday night. Pulock’s early injury forced head coach Patrick Roy’s hand, but the newest Islander held up well. He recorded a pair of shots in his 25-plus minutes, which included 5:15 of time on the power play — a role he should see plenty of as a puck-moving, offensively-capable defenseman.
“Outstanding. He was really good,” Roy said. “I was very happy to have him tonight. He’s smart. He moves the puck well, skates well. I think that’s a good fit for us. He’s capable of joining the rush, moves the puck well on the power play… There’s guys for some reason, they’ll fill those minutes. He’s one of them. He could go out there and play. I was looking t his last game in Russia and he played 26 minutes. So this is a welcome to the Islanders organization, isn’t it?”
