Assessing the latest rumors around Tony DeAngelo and Ryan Strome as they head for arbitration
Tony DeAngelo’s arbitration date is just 5 days away. Will the Rangers make it all the way to the bench of an arbitrator? Or will they hammer out a deal at the courthouse steps like they did with Chris Kreider in 2016? We will find out soon enough.
Tony DeAngelo deal likely to be announced before 10/20
The first one up on the calendar is defenseman Tony DeAngelo on October, 20. The 24 year-old blue-liner is coming off a season where he scored 53 points in 68 games. Had he played a full season at his .77 points per game, he would have notched 63 points.
This one is expected to go down to the wire, but probably not the courthouse steps. Last summer, DeAngelo tried holding out to get a better deal. It didn’t work and he missed some time at training camp.
Now he has some leverage and will want more than last season’s one year deal at $925,000. A lot more. His agent Pat Brisson is one of the toughest in the business and will get it for him too.
The rumor mill had two teams that contacted the Rangers around the draft. Both Anaheim and Vegas were looking at DeAngelo as a plan B trading option. Since then the Ducks signed Shattenkirk and Vegas signed Pietrangelo. That likely means the trade market is dryer so I expect the Rangers to sign Tony.
Look for a two year deal around the $5.5 million mark for DeAngelo.
Ryan Strome could make it to arbitration
The 27 year-old Strome is up for a significant raise on November 5. Jeff Gorton knows he will have to give him more money than the $3.1 million deal he just finished. Of course how much do you give a player that was so inconsistent before he came to NY? How much of his points were thanks to playing with the real league MVP, Artemi Panarin? All good questions.
This season was Ryan’s best as he notched 59 points in 70 games. Had he played a full 82, his .84 points per game would have been good for 69 points. Strome finished two points behind players like Ryan O’Reilly ($7.5M) and three points behind Anze Kopitar ($10M). If he is using them as comparable, this one will definitely land in front of the arbitrator.
If that is the case, I see Strome asking for around $7 million. New York may counter with something along the lines of $3.9 million. Usually the arbitrator will land somewhere in the middle, so Strome could get a one year award at around $5 to 5.5 million.
Should Strome get that, will he be another answer to a trivia question? Who was the other player after Nik Zherdev that the Rangers walked away from an arbitration award? It could happen.
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