Former New York Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo took to X on Saturday to discuss his sudden departure from the team in 2021, describing the situation as “mishandled.” Despite the unclear nature of his exit, he emphasized that he does not hold any resentment towards the organization.
DeAngelo’s remarks were in response to a fan who questioned why he continues to support the Rangers publicly despite their treatment of him. He stated, “I love to follow. I don’t root or not root for them, to be honest. They mishandled the way I was let go, but I have no hard feelings for them wanting to let me go. Just wish they would have traded me instead of waiving and causing chaos for no reason.”
During his four seasons with the Rangers, DeAngelo played 167 games and recorded 92 points. His time with the team ended in February 2021 following an incident with goaltender Alexandar Georgiev after a defeat to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Although DeAngelo expected to be traded after that event, the Rangers chose to waive him, which left him surprised and frustrated. Reflecting on the situation in August, he admitted that a poor start to the 2020-21 season made his exit less shocking, attributing much of the rocky start to his own performance.
“To be honest with you, it wasn’t a total shock that I was going to be out of there at that point because the season started off so rocky—a lot of it being my fault,” DeAngelo remarked.
After his tenure with the Rangers, DeAngelo had brief stints with the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers before leaving the NHL. He is currently playing for Saint Petersburg Hockey Club in Russia.
Meanwhile, the Rangers recently suffered a 7-5 loss to the Seattle Kraken, bringing their record to 14-11-1 for the season and placing them fourth in the Metropolitan Division.
