Vegas Hockey Knight
Fansided

Vegas Golden Knights: Tony DeAngelo the perfect fit for this team

By Andrew Steele-Davis

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 5: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers controls the puck during the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 5, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 5: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers controls the puck during the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 5, 2019 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 23: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers takes a slapshot against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 23, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – DECEMBER 23: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers takes a slapshot against the Philadelphia Flyers on December 23, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The Downsides

It is no secret that Tony DeAngelo has been plagued by maturity issues throughout his young career, although he’s got a clean record so far this year in that department.

However, any team that trades for DeAngelo will have to be prepared to pay him in the summer due to the fact that he is due to become a restricted free agent in the off-season.

And, if the Knights were to trade for DeAngelo, then they will have control of his rights once his contract expires in the summer and will be in pole position to thrash out a new contract, although the player will command a sizeable pay rise.

It is doable for the Golden Knights given that they are due to have around $15 million in cap space in 2020-21, but they will want to make sure that DeAngelo’s troubles are firmly behind him before heading into a full-blown relationship with the player.

Also, DeAngelo will be arbitration eligible in the summer so, although Vegas will own the player’s rights if they trade for him, they will have to take that into account too.

NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 27: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on December 27, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 27: Tony DeAngelo #77 of the New York Rangers skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on December 27, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /

What would a trade look like?

The New York Rangers are in salary cap hell and it will only get worse next year with the franchise having to carry over $6 million in dead cap space from Kevin Shattenkirk‘s buyout.

They have to decide whether to keep and re-sign forwards Chris Kreider and Jesper Fast, while Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Strome and Brendan Lemieux are all pending RFA’s.

As a result, and with Jacob Trouba the Blueshirts’ franchise defenseman, DeAngelo is one of the Rangers’ most tradable assets and it is highly likely that he’ll be available at the Trade Deadline.

Given that he is on an expiring contract, the Golden Knights won’t have to give up a king’s ransom in order to acquire DeAngelo.

Again, putting together a hypothetical trade is hardly an exact science but, considering that the Rangers are in the middle of a rebuild, a package containing picks and prospects would probably swing it.

For example, a player in the ilk of Nicolas Roy along with a defensive prospect in the ilk of Jake Bischoff or Zach Whitecloud and picks could be attractive to the Rangers.

And that would work for the Golden Knights. They wouldn’t be giving up anything too substantial while they would be getting a top four NHL defenseman with a high ceiling back in return.

Also, the Knights could afford to give up a defensive prospect like Bischoff or Whitecloud. Nic Hague has adapted well to the NHL while prospect Kaedan Korczak is a year or two away, so they have depth in that department.

The Golden Knights could look to include an expiring contract such as Cody Eakin, although that wouldn’t make a lot of sense given the New York Rangers’ salary cap constraints.

Finally, our friends over at Blue Line Station did a similar story to this one and suggested that the Rangers should look to include Peyton Krebs in any potential trade.

Sure, that would make perfect sense from the Blueshirts’ point of view, although it would be a non-starter for the Golden Knights given how highly-thought of Krebs is within the organization.

After all, the playmaking forward was the No. 17 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft and would have been higher were it not for a torn achilles suffered during summer workouts.

Another prospect the Golden Knights could include should the Rangers want a prospect forward is Lucas Elvenes, who was recently named to the 2020 AHL All-Star Game.

Elvenes, who was drafted No. 127 overall by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, has broken out during his rookie year in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves, leading the team in points with 31 (seven goals, 24 assists).

Given that the Rangers boast an abundance of prospects on the blueline, they could be interested in a package featuring a player with Elvenes’ offensive upside.

Home/Analysis