GM Jeff Gorton – Tony DeAngelo played his last game with the New York Rangers, awaiting trade

Tony DeAngelo played his last game with the New York Rangers, general manager Jeff Gorton told reporters on Monday.

Gorton said the 25-year-old defenseman “couldn’t move on” after being benched for the second and third games of the season – a decision made by coach David Quinn after DeAngelo committed an unsportsmanlike penalty in the home opener.

“I told him if his name was in anything it would be out of date,” Gorton said. “I felt I had to stay true to my word, the word of the organization.”

Gorton has confirmed there was a post-game showdown between DeAngelo and teammate Alexandar Georgiev following Saturday’s 5-4 overtime loss to Pittsburgh, as ESPN reported on Sunday. The organization saw this incident as the last straw.

Georgiev is fine, said Gorton, and is expected to be Igor Shesterkin’s replacement in Monday’s game against the Penguins.

The Rangers placed DeAngelo on waivers on Sunday, but he was not claimed by the other 30 NHL teams. It was a surprising move considering New York signed DeAngelo for a two-year, $ 9.6 million contract extension last October.

While DeAngelo is technically part of the New York Taxi team, Gorton said DeAngelo will stay home until the team can find a trade. The general manager said the team are not looking to cancel DeAngelo’s contract.

DeAngelo finished fourth among all NHL defensemen with 15 goals and 38 assists in a 2019-20 season, one in which he finished 12th in the vote for the Norris Trophy.

Besides his stint as a healthy scratch, DeAngelo has struggled this season. He was on the ice for four of Pittsburgh’s goals in the 5-4 overtime loss, including the game winner, which Georgiev let in. According to sources, DeAngelo said a comment to Georgiev as he walked through the tunnel afterward, which sparked the physical altercation. He was quickly broken up by his teammates, the source said.

Drafted 19th overall in 2014 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, DeAngelo also played for the Arizona Coyotes and three AHL teams.

DeAngelo has a history of disciplinary issues. He was suspended twice during his junior career in the OHL, including for violating league policy covering “homophobic, racist and sexist language” and abuse of officials. He was also suspended for three NHL games in 2017, while with the Coyotes, for physical violence against officials.

DeAngelo was traded to Rangers in 2017, with the No.7 pick in the 2017 draft (which New York used to select Lias Andersson), as part of a deal that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona.

“We did a lot of research, told a lot of people about Tony before we got him,” Gorton said. “We did our homework, we were comfortable. If you look at his track record with us, I think you know his season spoke for itself last year. There were several things going on. road, but really nothing to suggest anything from his past. In the juniors, there is nothing like that has ever been offered to us. “