The New York Rangers avoided arbitration by re-signing restricted free agent defenseman Tony DeAngelo, the team announced Thursday.
Multiple media outlets reported the deal was for two years at $4.8 million per season.
DeAngelo, who turns 25 on Oct. 24, is coming off a career season in which he was one of the league’s top-scoring defensemen. The right-handed shooter tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in both goals (15) and points (53) in 68 games — all career highs.
The New Jersey native became the first Rangers defenseman with at least 50 points in a season since Hall of Famer Brian Leetch in the 2001-02 season. He also became the first Rangers blueliner since Leetch in 2000-01 to produce at least 15 goals in a season.
Over his first four NHL seasons, DeAngelo has tallied 24 goals and 81 assists in 200 career games. He was originally a first-round pick (No. 19 overall) of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2014 NHL Draft, but he broke into the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes in 2016-17. He was dealt to New York as part of a June 2017 trade that shipped Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta to Arizona.
Earlier Thursday, the Rangers also retained their backup goaltender by signing Alexandar Georgiev to a reported two-year, $4.85 million contract. Georgiev was also a restricted free agent.
–Field Level Media
