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NHL Rumors: Latest Buzz on Tony DeAngelo's Future, Ryan Dzingel, Oilers
April 14, 2021NHL Rumors: Latest Buzz on Tony DeAngelo's Future, Ryan Dzingel, Oilers
The trade deadline has come and passed, and the NHL's 31 teams are now gearing up for the final stretch of the regular season.
Over the past week, several teams have made notable additions to their rosters to help them make a push into the Stanley Cup playoffs, which are set to begin on May 11.
Not every team made a deal, though, and not all players who were mentioned in trade rumors ended up switching teams. And even though trades can no longer happen this season, there will still be speculation about the upcoming offseason and players with uncertain futures.
Here's some of the latest buzz from around the NHL.
DeAngelo Nearly Parted Ways with New York Rangers
Since getting into a Jan. 30 postgame altercation with one of his teammates, Tony DeAngelo has been on the New York Rangers' taxi squad, and his future with the team remains in question.
As it turns out, there was a possibility of the 25-year-old joining a new team before Monday's trade deadline, but the move did not come to fruition.
According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Rangers would have mutually terminated DeAngelo's contract and let him pass through waivers, which then would have allowed him to sign with a new team as a free agent. While the Montreal Canadians were "very interested" in such a scenario, per Dreger, the defenseman "opted not to accept."
Larry Brooks of The New York Post reported that Montreal would have "made DeAngelo financially whole by covering the remaining portion of this year's pay plus the buyout sum."
While DeAngelo remains in New York for now, Dreger reported that the Rangers will be buying out his contract after the season, as he wasn't set to hit free agency until the end of the 2021-22 campaign. Considering teams had interest in him ahead of the deadline, there will likely be opportunities for him to get a fresh start elsewhere.
DeAngelo has one assist in six games this season, his fifth in the NHL. He spent his rookie year with the Arizona Coyotes, but he was traded to the Rangers in June 2017 and has played for them the past four seasons.
Lack of Interest in Dzingel at Deadline
Ryan Dzingel has been on a scoring tear since getting traded to the Ottawa Senators in February. And it appears that was a major reason why the center didn't get dealt again ahead of the deadline.
According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the 29-year-old "didn't draw much interest from opposing teams" prior to the trade deadline, even though he's set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
"That's likely because he looks comfortable with the Senators," Garrioch wrote.
In 17 games with Ottawa, Dzingel has six goals and two assists. He opened the season with the Carolina Hurricanes, tallying two goals and two assists in 11 games before being traded to the Senators on Feb. 13.
It's the Wheaton, Illinois native's second stint in Ottawa, as the Senators selected him in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL draft and he played for the team from 2015-19.
Ottawa is in last place in the North Division, so it could have traded Dzingel before he hits free agency, but that didn't end up happening. It's not yet clear whether he might return to the team next season.
Oilers Didn't Want to Part with Top Assets at Deadline
It was a quiet trade deadline for the Edmonton Oilers, which didn't make any deals despite being in a good position to reach the playoffs this season.
They're third in the North Division with 52 points and appear to be heading toward a postseason appearance for the third time in five years.
However, there's a reason Edmonton opted not to make any moves: The team's front office doesn't believe it's in position to win the Stanley Cup quite yet, according to The Athletic's Daniel Nugent-Bowman.
"As a team source told me at the beginning of the month, the Oilers don't see themselves as a true, top-five Stanley Cup contender. It's hard to argue with that assessment," he wrote. "... That's why management wasn't interested in giving up a first-round pick or a top prospect like Evan Bouchard, Philip Broberg or Dylan Holloway."
Edmonton is clearly heading in the right direction, though, and perhaps it will make a bigger splash either during the upcoming offseason or at the 2021-22 trade deadline. The Oilers have a talented core featuring centers Connor McDavid (NHL-high 69 points this season) and Leon Draisaitl (second in NHL with 61 points).
The last time Edmonton won the Stanley Cup was in 1990, its fifth NHL championship in seven years.