The Rangers on Sunday put defenseman Tony DeAngelo on waivers, and several reports say that a physical altercation outside the Rangers' locker room following their loss to the Penguins on Saturday night was the reason.
The New York Post's Larry Brooks reported that the altercation was with goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, and that rookie defenseman K’Andre Miller broke it up. The altercation began due to a comment DeAngelo made to Georgiev after the loss.
DeAngelo cleared waivers on Monday at noon, with no team putting in a claim. He was on regular waivers, not unconditional waivers for the purposes of contract termination. He is now free to be assigned to the Rangers' taxi squad or minor-league affiliates.
DeAngelo was on the ice for four of the Penguins' five goals on Saturday, including the overtime winner, where it appeared that a miscommunication between DeAngelo and Georgiev led to the Penguins' gaining possession before Sidney Crosby's goal.
“Things happen in pro sports and that was a decision the organization made," said Rangers head coach David Quinn. “It’s part of the business. It’s a decision we made. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Quinn said that he didn't want to "get into specifics" with the reason for DeAngelo being placed on waivers.
DeAngelo, 25, signed a two-year contract with the Rangers in October worth $4.8 million per year.
It's not the first time that DeAngelo's off-ice antics have caused a headache for his team.
Within the past several months, the Rangers have had multiple internal discussions with DeAngelo following a tweet of his asking "what happened to COVID-19?" after the election, and another challenging a fan to a fight. DeAngelo was suspended twice in the OHL for violating the league's policy covering "homophobic, racist, and sexist language," with one of the incidents coming when DeAngelo directed the language at one of his own teammates.
His father, Anthony, did an interview after DeAngelo was suspended saying that he himself uses the same language "every day."
No one is born racist. They’re taught to be.
— Drew (@DrewMacFarlane) June 2, 2020
Here’s the father of @NYRangers Tony DeAngelo, a player suspended by the OHL twice for using slurs, saying he uses the same slurs his son used “Every day. Every day.”
I actually can’t believe this is real. pic.twitter.com/dseyyUJR2o
DeAngelo was also suspended once in the OHL and once for three games in the NHL with Arizona for abuse of officials.
On the ice, DeAngelo has struggled this season. He has one assist and is a minus-six in six games and his poor defensive play has led to him being a healthy scratch for two games.
