Carolina gives RFA defenseman freedom to speak to other teams
Carolina has nearly $20M in cap space but have a slew of RFAs that are looking for big contracts and currently only have 14 players under contract for next season. Of those RFAs, Martin Necas and Tony DeAngelo are the two most prominent. Both will be expecting massive raises from Carolina and signing both would put Carolina in a cap crunch.
Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon is unorthodox and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Canes sign both, but for now they have granted Tony DeAngelo permission to speak with other teams about potential long-term deals. Should DeAngelo find an agreement with another team, Carolina would then work out a trade with the team.
DeAngelo has met his fair share of controversy the past few seasons with his off-ice remarks regarding politics and Carolina took lots of heat when they first signed him last off-season. Whatever team trades for DeAngelo will be well aware of the criticisms they will endure.
In terms of the on-ice product that DeAngelo brings to the table, there's no question that he's incredibly skilled. If it weren't for the off-ice antics, he'd likely be a marquee defenseman in the league with the way he produces. This past season, the 26-year-old blueliner notched 51 points in just 64 games. This marks the 2nd time in the past 3 seasons that DeAngelo has surpassed the 50-point barrier. Both times, he did so in under 70 games.
| POLL | ||
3 JUILLET | 256 ANSWERS Carolina gives RFA defenseman freedom to speak to other teams Will DeAngelo be back with the Canes next season? | ||
| Yes | 102 | 39.8 % |
| No | 105 | 41 % |
| He shouldn't even be in the NHL | 49 | 19.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
