A look at Tony DeAngelo’s possible next contract
When the Rangers landed the number two overall pick in the draft lottery on April 9th, we as fans knew that this summer had the chance to be something special. Since that night the Rangers also signed three of their top prospects to entry level contracts, acquired Adam Fox from Carolina and signed him to an entry level contract.
They also brought in John Davidson to be the head man, acquired Jacob Trouba for pennies on the dollar from Winnipeg, drafted Kaapo Kakko (and some other very nice prospects as well), and signed Artemi Panarin. It has been an a summer for Jeff Gorton and Rangers brass thus far.
After acquiring Panarin on July 1, the Rangers will now move into their second phase of the off-season. They currently have four players in Jacob Trouba, Pavel Buchnevich, Brendan Lemuiex, and Tony DeAngelo that are RFAs (restricted free agents) that need new contracts. The Rangers currently have a little over $8 million in cap space, and I expect Trouba will be taken care of first. Gorton has some pieces that still need to be moved around to get the other three under contract. In this post, we are going to take a look at a deal that might be imminent for right handed defenseman, Tony DeAngelo.
Tony D’s new deal
DeAngelo, who was acquired by the Rangers in 2017 from the Arizona Coyotes in a blockbuster deal, will turn 24 years old in October. DeAngelo took a monster leap this year compiling 30 points, and averaging over 19 minutes a night. He is an extremely talented offensive defenseman, but still has some holes in his defensive game. Head Coach David Quinn put a lot of trust in the young DeAngelo on a rebuilding club last season, and DeAngelo delivered. As mentioned before, DeAngelo is a RFA who is due for a contract this summer, so let’s discuss what he may fetch from the Blueshirts.
Now on his third team, DeAngelo is looking to make New York home, and the Rangers would like to keep the highly skilled defenseman around. Unfortunately for DeAngelo, he has not done enough to get rewarded a long term deal but he has definitely done enough to get himself a bridge deal. I expect the Rangers to offer DeAngelo a two-three year deal carrying an AAV of ~$2.5-2.75 million AAV. A two year deal will give DeAngelo one more summer of being an RFA in 2021, but unlike this summer, he will be arbitration eligible.
For those unaware of how the RFA system works, it is either one of two things that push you to being a UFA – 1) 7 years in the league, or 2) 27 years old. A two year contract will bring DeAngelo to the summer of 2021 where he will be 26 years old and have less than 7 years played in the league, thus making him an RFA with arbitration eligibility. A three year contract will bring DeAngelo to the summer of 2022 where he will be 27 years old, thus making him a UFA. So while a two year deal, and a three year deal aren’t a big difference in relation to term, it is a HUGE difference for DeAngelo when that deal is up. DeAngelo also can also sign his qualifying offer which is equivalent to his 2018-2019 AAV plus 5%.
If I had to estimate, the Rangers will try and bridge DeAngelo for two years instead of three at an AAV of ~$2.5-2.75 million to keep him as an RFA in the summer of 2021. DeAngelo does not have any leverage right now being that he is not arbitration eligible this summer, and I think he really wants to be with the Blueshirts moving forward. The only issue with keeping DeAngelo however, is now there is a glut on the right side with Trouba, Shattenkirk, DeAngelo, and newly acquired Adam Fox, who should make the roster. It will be interesting to see what Jeff Gorton does in the coming days and weeks of this summer’s incredible off-season thus far.
More About:New York Rangers Features