Report: Tony DeAngelo Waived by Rangers Weeks After Deleting Twitter Account

After defenseman Tony DeAngelo's controversial start to the season—on and off the ice—the New York Rangers elected to place the star on waivers Sunday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. 

DeAngelo, who signed a two-year, $9.6 million extension this offseason, deleted his Twitter account in protest of former U.S. President Donald Trump's ban from the platform and was later benched for two games after "poor on-ice behavior" in the first game of the season, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post. 

Through six games this season, DeAngelo has posted just one point by way of an assist in an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. 

His contributions pale in comparison to the 53-point season he had through 68 games last year. 

The 25-year-old said he was switching to Parler, which was banned from the Google app store due to "continued posting...that seeks to incite ongoing violence in the U.S," according to Mark Fischer of the New York Post. 

Head coach David Quinn told reporters the team addressed the situation with DeAngelo, according to Fischer.

Fischer reported that DeAngelo was suspended twice by the Ontario Hockey League in 2014—the year the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted him with the No. 19 pick—for violation of policy "to keep homophobic, racist and sexist language out of the game." 

Before he was traded to the Rangers—where he was suspended for a "maturity issue" in 2019—he missed three games when he tried to push a referee. 

This year's early punishment came after he was handed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the New York Islanders on Jan. 14 (h/t Mollie Walker of the New York Post). 

"Tony understood the situation," Quinn said, via Brooks. "It was not my intention for it to be a two-game situation. He knows that, and we’ve had conversations regarding that. He’s ready to move past it. I’m ready to move past it. He’s learned from it."

Brendan Smith filled in for DeAngelo when he took a seat, and it's likely he could see more time again with the move.