The Flyers’ case for buying out Tony DeAngelo

Flyers fans were on pins and needles last summer with hopes that their favorite team would sign coveted superstar winger Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. It was a perfect fit – the Flyers desperately needed to add a player with high-end talent to the roster, especially after the departure of franchise icon Claude Giroux. In Gaudreau, the Flyers not only would have acquired that desired skill the team overtly lacked, but they also would have added a South Jersey native who grew up rooting for the Orange & Black.

On all counts, signing Gaudreau was a no-brainer for then-Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher.

But he couldn’t do it.

The Flyers had minimal cap space when the free agency window opened, making a Gaudreau signing nothing but a pipe dream. And it was a move Fletcher made several days prior that ultimately shackled the Flyers’ cap flexibility.

Before Day 2 of last year’s NHL Entry Draft, the Flyers acquired another South Jersey native, defenseman Tony DeAngelo, from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick, a 2023 third-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick. That same day, the Flyers signed DeAngelo to a two-year, $10 million contract extension.

The addition of DeAngelo was – and still is – heavily scrutinized by countless pundits in the hockey sphere, but not because the Flyers didn’t need defensive stability. On the contrary, they badly needed help on the blue line, especially following the premature ending of Ryan Ellis’ career. They were expected to obtain an experienced defenseman to shore up their woes on the back end, but DeAngelo being that defenseman was never on anyone’s bingo card.

DeAngelo, who has now played for five different clubs since being drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2014, has never been mistaken for a premier NHL defenseman. He’s been a square peg in a round hole since joining the Flyers, and now, his long-term future in Philadelphia is murky at best, especially after being a healthy scratch in three consecutive games.

Thursday, DeAngelo was sat in favor of 24-year-old defenseman Ronnie Attard. Saturday, after Attard was reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Justin Braun took DeAngelo’s place in the lineup. Sunday, with Nick Seeler out of the lineup due to an illness, the Flyers opted to ride with just five defensemen instead of playing DeAngelo.

Not exactly a great look.

Statistically, DeAngelo’s first campaign with his hometown team appears solid. The 27-year-old has posted 11 goals and 42 total points through 70 games, and he ranks toward the top of the league in points by a defenseman on the power play. Offensively, there’s no denying DeAngelo’s potential.

Defensively, it’s a completely different story. Out of 219 NHL defensemen with at least 400 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time, DeAngelo ranks 132nd in Corsi-For percentage and 153rd in Expected Goals For percentage. His inconsistencies in coverage have come back to bite the Flyers on countless occasions, and his defensive shortfalls have even cost his team games at some points.

In February, Flyers head coach John Tortorella even implied that he’d been caught off guard by DeAngelo’s deficiencies away from the puck.

“Last team he played for, Carolina, I think they could absorb some of that with their roster as far as maybe some of his deficiencies defensively. It kind of sticks out more with us. It’s not so much a fit with the roster, because I think he’s done some great things for us here. It’s just we want to try to help him, and we feel he needs to get better defensively without taking away any of that great offensive ability he has.

“We know what Tony is. I’m a little bit – not disappointed – but the defensive liability is something we need to work at. I didn’t think the amount of work that we need to do with him, I didn’t think that at the point in time when we got him. But it is what it is. That’s our job as a coaching staff.”

Tortorella has become revered within the organization less than a full year into his tenure as Flyers head coach. Recently, Tortorella has opted to take in games with a bird’s-eye view from the press box alongside interim (and likely soon-to-be full-time) general manager Danny Brìere. The Flyers are getting set to embark on a rebuild this summer, as Brìere revealed following the dismissal of Fletcher as general manager in March. And with Tortorella skeptical of DeAngelo’s play, the possibility of the divisive blueliner being traded, or bought out, certainly isn’t unthinkable.

A trade involving DeAngelo may be difficult to orchestrate, though. While DeAngelo only has one more year remaining on his contract after this season, his $5 million cap hit is likely to be highly unattractive to potential suitors. The Flyers could theoretically retain some of DeAngelo’s salary, but salary retention can be a slippery slope, especially during an offseason in which the Flyers may opt to retain salary on multiple players.

Which brings us to the buyout option.

Per CapFriendly, buying out DeAngelo this offseason could save the Flyers $1,666,667 over a two-year span as opposed to keeping him on the roster altogether. In fact, buying out DeAngelo would actually save them $3,333,333 in cap space next season. The caveat? They’d owe $1,666,667 in 2024-25 despite DeAngelo’s contract ending next summer.

However, a potential buyout of DeAngelo could also largely be dependent on the offseason trade market. If teams looking for a right-shot, puck-moving defenseman inquire on DeAngelo, the Flyers likely won’t hang up the phone. But if each offer hinges on the Flyers retaining 50% ($2,500,000) of his salary – the maximum allowable retention percentage under the current collective bargaining agreement – and throwing in a sweetener, not unlike what Fletcher did to remove Shayne Gostisbehere from the roster, a buyout may be the optimal move.

Of course, there’s also the possibility the Flyers don’t buy out or trade DeAngelo at all. After all, he only has one year remaining on his deal. The Flyers aren’t expected to compete next season (or the season after, for that matter), so what’s the harm in letting him play out his contract?

Realistically, another year of DeAngelo in Philadelphia wouldn’t change a thing about the direction of the franchise. However, his presence in the lineup could potentially block a younger defenseman from earning valuable minutes with the big club.

Brìere and Tortorella have both stressed the importance of developing their young players ad nauseam. Cam York has already established himself as a full-time NHLer, but Attard, Egor Zamula, and newly signed defenseman Emil Andrae, who’s already standing out in Lehigh Valley, will all be looking to earn NHL minutes next season. And unlike DeAngelo, they all appear to fit more appropriately with the Flyers’ new timeline.

It’ll be a few years before the Flyers resemble a competitive NHL team again, and when that time eventually comes, barring a dramatic turn of events, DeAngelo will not be part of it. Does DeAngelo playing out the rest of his contract in Philadelphia change the team’s trajectory in any way? Probably not. But if the Flyers have the ability to open a roster spot for a younger player and save money in the process, there’s no reason not to consider it.

All advanced statistics courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.