DeAngelo discusses divorce from Rangers and joining Canes before taking on former team for first time

For Carolina Hurricanes defenceman Tony Deangelo, the 2021-22 season has been a rejuvenation of a career that some thought had already come to an end.

DeAngelo, 26, has never struggled when it comes to on-ice play. As a member of the New York Rangers, a team he will face Friday night, he did everything they asked of him on the ice. In 2019-20, he put up 15 goals and 53 points in just 68 games from the back end. However, he was sent home just six games into the 2020-21 season, and bought out that summer.

There were plenty of reasons as to why this decision by the Rangers was made. First was his outspokenness on social media, as he was not shy about being a Donald Trump supporter, and often fueled the fire by getting into arguments with fans on the platform. There were reports that the team asked him to tone it down on this front, but to no avail. The final straw however, was a locker room confrontation with goaltender Alexander Georgiev immediately after a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Shortly after the game, he was sent home and never played another game for the Rangers.

This summer, the Hurricanes chose to sign the controversial blueliner to a one-year, $1 million deal, and to this point it is paying off brilliantly. DeAngelo has had no incidents, as least as far as the media is aware of, and is no longer on Twitter. Even better is that his on-ice play continues to be stellar, as he sits fourth in team scoring with 28 points in 29 games. Catching up with media on Thursday, he seems quite content playing in Raleigh.


"It's going really well for me here," DeAngelo said. "I was a little rusty in training camp, though. I came back and it was, ‘Holy blank, I didn't know I was out this long.' So it took me a little bit to get going."

"But there are so many good players here and the pace has been so high from the start that I was able to get comfortable pretty early. It's been real smooth. We started off 9-0 and it doesn't get better than that."

DeAngelo also said he's given up on social media, something that got him into some trouble in the past.

"There was some stuff on social media that I probably shouldn't have put out there, but I was never looking to be hurtful to anybody, but it was always spun in ways that I didn't intend, racism which I never alluded to. So you know what, I'm done with it."

"I'm just going private on Instagram or whatever. No hot takes. Now I just post a picture here and there, and it's been much nicer," said DeAngelo. "I don't get anybody calling me after a tweet. I just mind my own business. We just want to win here. That's the goal. Nobody cares, nobody wants to hear about this and that. I know New York is a much different market and I probably played right into it but it's been nice to be off and not have to worry about the noise."

While the season remains relatively young, the DeAngelo deal is arguably the best bargain signing of the summer. He is showing no signs of slowing down and is a key player on a team that is being viewed as a serious Stanley Cup contender.