One of the NHL’s most notorious villains was back at it again on Tuesday night.
Tony DeAngelo, who infamously punched his way off the Rangers’ roster after getting into a physical altercation with backup goalie Alexandar Georgiev, was ejected from a game Tuesday after spearing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Corey Perry with his stick.
DeAngelo, now a member of the Philadelphia Flyers, skated into a scrum in front of the net during the Flyers’ 5-2 loss, extended his stick, and lunged at Perry’s groin in the violent incident that was captured by replay cameras.
Perry’s Tampa Bay teammates immediately retaliated, with seemingly every player on the ice converging to tackle DeAngelo to the ground.
DeAngelo was given a five-minute penalty and ejected from the game, with additional punishment from the league office a possibility, according to ESPN.
After the game, the 27-year-old claimed he was not aiming for Perry’s groin.
“He tried to slash my stick out of my hands a second beforehand. He talks all game,” DeAngelo said. “I asked him to fight, he doesn’t want to fight. He’ll tell you he’s asked me to fight for years. I don’t say no. But wasn’t trying to give him a shot. Replay probably looks worse.”
Flyers coach John Tortorella said he didn’t see a clip of what happened but said guys in the room said it was “pretty obvious” what happened.
“That’s the line you walk, as far as going over the edge,” Tortorella said. “I want him to have his personality, to have that competitiveness. A couple of guys I did sit, I wish a little of that would rub off on them. But again, I haven’t seen it, but I think he may have crossed the line.”
DeAngelo, who made his NHL debut with the Coyotes, spent three-plus seasons with the Rangers from 2017 to 2021.
His Rangers tenure was nothing if not dramatic; he was temporarily benched on multiple occasions by former head coach David Quinn over maturity and discipline issues.
The last straw came during his physical altercation with Georgiev in 2021, which led to the team placing him on waivers.
DeAngelo was signed by the Carolina Hurricanes, who traded him to Philadelphia this past offseason.