RALEIGH, N.C. — Tony DeAngelo is getting another chance in the NHL with the Carolina Hurricanes, who signed the 25-year-old defenseman to a $1 million, one-year contract Wednesday.
DeAngelo was sent home by the New York Rangers last season following an undisclosed incident, went unclaimed by the rest of the league on waivers and had the final season of his contract bought out.
Carolina is taking a chance on a 2014 first-round pick who's only one year removed from posting 53 points in 68 games. DeAngelo has 24 goals and 82 assists in 206 career games with New York and Arizona.
Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said he and his staff talked to players, coaches and others who know DeAngelo and found no red flags to stop them from signing DeAngelo to a short-term deal.
“We did our research on who this person is beyond what the perception of him (is),” Waddell said on a video call with reporters. “There’s no doubt that he has made mistakes. We acknowledge that, and most important he recognizes that he’s made mistakes.”
Waddell said in a statement upon signing DeAngelo that the team is "confident that he can be a positive addition to our group.”
That group looks much different, particularly in goal, than at the end of Carolina's playoff run this spring. The Hurricanes turned over their entire goaltending position in the past week.
They agreed to terms with former Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen on a $9 million, two-year deal and brought in Antti Raanta from Arizona for $4 million over the next two seasons. Waddell said these were the goalies Carolina targeted all along.
Despite combining for a .920 save percentage that ranked third in the league, the Hurricanes moved on from Alex Nedeljkovic, Petr Mrazek and James Reimer. After trading Nedeljkovic to Detroit last week, Mrazek signed with Toronto and Reimer with San Jose on Wednesday.
“It was an easy choice,” Mrazek said of signing for $11.4 million over three years with the Maple Leafs. “I think the last three seasons I established myself in a position that I found a way how to win important games.”
In other moves, Carolina acquired defenseman Ethan Bear from Edmonton for forward Warren Foegele, agreed to terms with veteran defender Ian Cole on a $2.9 million, one-year contract, re-signed Jordan Martinook for $5.4 million over three years and brought in Josh Leivo for $750,000 for next season.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Aaron Beard And Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press