Hurricanes working on long-term extension with polarizing defenseman
Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell said there is mutual interest in working out a long term contract extension with Tony DeAngelo. He's currently an RFA with Arbitration rights.
DeAngelo, a talented puck-mover from New Jersey, was essentially fired from the New York Rangers after playing six games during the 2020-2021 season for behavioral incidents that were detrimental to the team.
The former 19th overall pick in the 2014 draft signed with the Hurricanes for one year at a cap hit of $1,000,000. He had an awesome season for Carolina leading all blueliners in points with 51. He quarterbacked the their top powerplay unit, getting on the score sheet 20 out the 51 times Carolina scored on the powerplay.
The Hurricanes have three out of their four top four defenceman from this past season locked up in Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce. Waddell will need to make roster decisions on how the rest of the defence shapes out for next season. Brendan Smith and Ian Cole are pending UFAs. They also have young blueliner Ethan Bear who joins DeAngelo with arbitration rights.
Carolina will also have Jake Gardiner and his $4,050,000 potentially back next season. Wadell announced last week that Gardiner has recovered from multiple surgeries that kept him out the entire 2021-2022 season.
Gardiner holds a seven-team no-trade clause if the Canes want to move him. If he is now fully healthy, they could buy Gardiner out this summer. That would result in a cap hit of $1.083MM in 2022-23 and $1.483MM in 2023-24. This could be the better option than rolling the dice with his post-surgery performance.
With DeAngelo's production, age, and importance to the team its essential that the Hurricanes lock him up long term. Defenceman that have put up his points have been signing contracts in the $6,000,000 - $7,000,000 range. If he wants long term and Carolina wants to keep the salary structure of their defence he may have to settle with $5,000,000. If he does move in the offseason he will be playing for his fifth team as he begins his seventh NHL season.
| POLL | ||
How many years does Tony DeAngelo get with the Hurricanes on his next contract? | ||
| One | 15 | 15.3 % |
| Two | 23 | 23.5 % |
| Three | 34 | 34.7 % |
| Five or More | 26 | 26.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
