Don Waddell is not done adding to this roster and has made another impactful signing. Tony DeAngelo returns to the Carolina Hurricanes on a one-year deal and will make $1.675 million. The attempt to acquire him via trade fell through, so when he was placed on waivers, they landed him for free. He returns to the team he had instant success with, so Carolina knows what player they are getting. There is plenty that he brings to the table and he fits the needs.
More Offense Joining the Team
There are a few elements that Waddell was seeking this summer, so he went and addressed those. Carolina needed to get bigger and more physical and find more scoring. The team was one of the worst finishing teams in the league (minus-31.15), goals for above expected, and has a new influx of talent to aid that. Michael Bunting, Dmitry Orlov, and now DeAngelo help bring extra offense and scoring punch to the lineup. The latest addition to the team thrived offensively in Carolina once before and will look to do it again.
Related: Hurricanes Sign Tony DeAngelo to 1-Year Contract
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DeAngelo is an offensive wizard and has excellent abilities with the puck. He has a great way of transitioning the play forward and is a precise passer. Aside from being a great playmaker, he has good finishing ability and can score goals from the back end. Incoming is a player who has hit the ten-goal mark three times and has surpassed the 50-point mark twice. Last season, he scored 11 goals, 31 assists, and 42 points for the slumping Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers were not the most gifted offensive team, but he found a way to generate 9.5 expected goals and surpass that expected mark.
DeAngelo enjoyed another offensive dynamite campaign, so he will fit in nicely with a team that generates a lot of offense. However, there is a need for this team, and he will help improve that aspect of the game.
Reinforcing the Power Play
You would think with players such as Sebastian Aho, Brent Burns, Andrei Svechnikov, and Martin Necas that the power play would be dominant. That is not the case and Carolina can use all the help they can get with the man advantage. This is precisely where DeAngelo comes in, and he can help improve the unit as he did in his first stint.
DeAngelo is a power-play specialist and can quarterback the unit in elite fashion. The power-play unit was far more significant with him than without him, so having him back is huge. When he was on the team during the 2021-22 season, the power-play unit had a 22 percent success rate compared to the 19.8 percent success rate during the 2022-23 season. The units were successful, but so was he from an individual standpoint.
He is a known point producer from the back end and produces at a high rate on the power play. During his first stint with Carolina, he finished the year with two goals, 18 assists, and 20 points. He was their best defender, generating 1.8 expected goals, and found ways to get pucks to the net. His ability to fire shots toward the goal was evident (89 percent Corsi For), but getting shots through traffic was also significant (87 percent Fenwick).
The move to the Flyers saw him still produce rapidly, so being on a lesser team did not diminish his play. DeAngelo scored a career-high four goals on the man advantage for the team and finished with one point less than he did with Carolina. He was much more opportunistic (2.6 expected goals) and finished the season with a 10 percent shooting percentage with the power play. Without question, he will improve the power-play unit for Carolina, but there are concerns with one part of his game.
Improving His Defensive Play
DeAngelo is an offensive powerhouse, but he is a liability on the back end. No player is perfect, and every player has things they can work on, but this area of play is where he can improve.
This past season, he averaged 3.98 on-ice expected goals against per 60 minutes (most among Flyers defensemen). In addition, when he was on the ice, opponents averaged 4.9 high-danger shots per 60 minutes, as well as 61.16 shot attempts. DeAngelo was a turnover machine and finished the season with 57 giveaways. The Flyers were chasing the game more than they were controlling it, but those are eye-opening numbers. He is joining a team that prides itself on its defensive structure, which should improve his overall game.
In an ideal scenario, fans will see him paired alongside someone with elite defensive capability, such as Jalen Chatfield. This would give DeAngelo free reign to focus on offense as his partner can shut down the opposition. He can improve and likely will under Rod Brind’Amour. There is a lot to like about this signing and be happy about overall.
Delighted With DeAngelo
There is a lot to be happy about with the DeAngelo signing. He was a fan favorite in his first stint with the club and will get the Raleigh faithful up on its feet.
He brings that missing element of the offense to the power play and also brings a physical edge. His ability to stand up for his teammates and bring a nasty edge to his game that was lacking last season. He is a familiar face with the team and fits into what they have built. Given the price tag on his deal, this is another high-risk, high-reward situation that has more upside than downside to it. The quest for the Stanley Cup continues, and he gets another crack at it.