Chuck Fletcher signing Tony DeAngelo never made much since, so it’s fitting their tenures with the Philadelphia Flyers ended the way they did.
Fletcher was relieved of his duties on March 10, two days after DeAngelo got suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for spearing Corey Perry. Then, on July 14, Tony DeAngelo became the first player in NHL history to have been bought out more than once.
Tony DeAngelo was reasonably productive from an offensive standpoint, playing on a Flyers team that was pretty bad for most of the 2022-23 season. The only reason he didn’t return to the Carolina Hurricanes, with whom he set a career-high in points with in the 2021-22 season, was because of money. It’s safe to say that the two-year, $5 million contract he received from Chuck Fletcher was too much if the Hurricanes weren’t willing to come near that figure.
https://twitter.com/rattmartin/status/1679887997754376192?s=20
DeAngelo’s trade value tanked because he, like Kevin Hayes, ended up in grumpy John Tortorella’s doghouse more than once because of defensive issues, and created an irreparable rift between the two. Any prospective trader knows they wouldn’t have had to offer much to get DeAngelo, even at 50% retained salary, as a result of his point of no return within the Flyers organization. As it turns out, no team offered the Flyers literally anything at all, so DeAngelo was bought out and let go for free.
At one point, the Philadelphia Flyers were expected to receive prospect Massimo Rizzo from the Carolina Hurricanes for Tony DeAngelo at 50% retention, but obviously that never came to fruition. The Hurricanes really want Erik Karlsson, and Tony DeAngelo is not three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson.
Grade: F+