Neither Tony DeAngelo Nor Jeff Gorton Have Much Reason To Blink
The New York Rangers kicked off their 2019-2020 training camp without defenseman Tony DeAngelo — having gotten Brendan Lemieux to ink a one-year extension at the 11th hour to avoid another holdout.
Lemieux is a different animal than DeAngelo, though. While Lemieux brings an aspect of the game the Rangers don’t have a lot of (and, quite frankly, don’t need a lot of), his inclusion does help keep players like Micheal Haley firmly in the “tryout zone” rather than on the MSG ice surface in October. That in, and of itself, has inherent value to this organization.
DeAngelo poses an interesting dynamic. Per Larry Brooks, the Rangers are not willing to give DeAngelo more than the one-year, $925K contract they handed Lemieux last week — a figure that DeAngelo and his camp are rightfully not accepting. DeAngelo is more valuable than Lemieux, he impacts the game more than Lemieux, and he’s one of the defensive options the team should actually want on the ice.
Normally, negotiations like this drag on for a few weeks before things hit the papers; something Mike and I discussed on the podcast last week. The two sides haven’t taken to battling through the press to this point, although we do know the Rangers aren’t willing to go above the $925K offer Lemieux signed.
Which brings us to the really interesting part in these negotiations: both sides are right.
Gorton is right to be low-balling DeAngelo — and to be doing so without any term on the deal. The Rangers don’t need DeAnglo as much as they did in June, having since acquired both Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba. It’s easy to pencil Trouba in as the power play quarterback of the first unit, with Fox cutting his teeth with the second group. It’s easy to keep one eye on the future and earmark funds for K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundkvist, who rocketing up the prospect rankings.
But there may be deeper reasons at play for Gorton to play hardball. Why should he go out of his way to lock up DeAngelo on more than a show me deal with all the baggage the 23-year-old carries?
David Quinn did get the best out of the young defenseman in the second half of the season, but we’re still just a year removed from DeAngelo spending a majority of his time in the AHL to go along with all the off-ice issues he had prior to arriving in New York in June 2017. In a lot of respects, this is DeAngelo’s last ticket at the NHL level, even with last year’s strong play. This is his third NHL team since being taken 19th overall by Tampa Bay in 2014, and if he had the value he believes he does, wouldn’t he have garnered an offer sheet by now? In addition, an added dynamic to the situation is the limited funds at the Rangers’ disposal.
On the other hand, DeAngelo is right to be annoyed at the reported offer. He was one of the Rangers better defenseman last year (low bar, I know, but he had a solid season), and his 30 points in 61 games was more than solid, especially for a guy who couldn’t get his feet off the ground until the second half of the year.
Since the incident in 2017 where he — while on the Wolf Pack — got into a series of arguments with Rangers fans on Twitter, we haven’t heard a peep about him for off-ice issues. He gained Quinn’s trust and played his best hockey down the stretch. Defensemen registering a half point per game don’t grow on trees, and DeAngelo’s skill set can turn him into a special player.
The problem for DeAngelo is the baggage. He is the perfect offer sheet candidate — something I argued on the podcast a few weeks back. He’d likely sign a small enough offer that you wouldn’t need to fork over a first-round pick, and the Rangers really can’t match any offer more than $1.5-million. To get a guy like DeAngelo, at his age, in the fold for a couple of mid-level draft picks would be a steal, and the Rangers really wouldn’t be able to defend it. That the option isn’t there for him speaks to the fact that general managers often evaluate off reputation and his is still that of a “problem child.”
I think the Rangers need DeAngelo more than they think they do, though. With Marc Staal and Brendan Smith currently locked into roles, questions as to which Brady Skjei we’ll be getting, and the alternatives being Joe Morrow (currently on a PTO) or Libor Hajek (had five good NHL games before getting injured) DeAngelo should be a desired option.
I understand Gorton not having a ton of money to work with, but DeAngelo shouldn’t be concerned about those issues; he has to worry about himself. The last guy to take a hometown discount for the organization just got bought out, so the idea that he should be risking his earned dollars doesn’t hold much water. Plus, I doubt Morrow or Hajek earn a spot over him if he does come back in midway through camp.
Ultimately the team has the upper hand here. DeAngelo is right to be annoyed, and is right to be fighting for his money. But he has to play in the NHL in order to keep his career alive. This isn’t Mitch Marner, or more appropriately William Nylander the year before. Those guys can afford the holdout, benefiting from their undeniable resumes keeping the pressure on the front office — in addition to knowing there would be jobs for them on the other side of the fence no matter how long things went. DeAngelo isn’t in such a boat, and he needs to weigh that as well.
All that said, I get why he’s sitting out right now.
