The Carolina Hurricanes have traded restricted free-agent agent defenseman Tony DeAngelo and a 7th-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for a 2024 2nd, 2023 3rd, and 2022 4th-round pick. Along with this trade, the Flyers are finalizing a two-year, $10 million extension with DeAngelo to keep make him part of their near-future core with a chance to extend him again if things go well.
For the Hurricanes, this is a fantastic value to receive for the rights to DeAngelo, who was a bit of a reclamation project by the franchise. Heading into the 2021-22 season, it was uncertain whether or not he would even get an offer after he had a falling out with his previous team, the New York Rangers, which led to his buyout in 2021.
However, the Hurricanes took a chance on DeAngelo, and he rewarded the team on the ice by producing 51-points in a top-four role for the franchise. He also kept his off-ice issues to a minimum by staying out of controversy that he often brought on himself.
Flyers Have Next Piece of Their Defensive Core
After having a disastrous 2021-22 season where they finished with one of the worst records in the league, the Flyers appear to be looking to do a retool instead of a full rebuild. Their defensive corps needed some work, and with DeAngelo, they are getting a top-end offensive defenseman.
Immediately, DeAngelo will be ready to take over a top-four role with Philadelphia, while acting as the quarterback of their powerplay. He should be able to chip in a lot of points in this role, as he has shown that he has offensive skills to spare.
However, the one area DeAngelo has always struggled in is the defensive side of his role. He took strides in this aspect of his game with the Hurricanes, but that could be due in part to playing with a fantastic defensive structure by Carolina alongside Jaccob Slavin. Now that he will be playing with the Flyers, who were prone to breaking down in their own zone throughout the 2021-22 season, we will be able to see just how much he has improved in this area of his game.
If you are the Flyers, though, you should be excited to bring back a new top-four defenseman. Perhaps this will be the sign of a quick retool that will allow them to make their way back to the postseason in 2023.
