"I yelled at Georgiev": Tony DeAngelo reflects on controversy with Alexandar Georgiev that got him waived by Rangers

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Aug 14, 2024 19:26 GMT

On Morning Cuppa Hockey, Tony DeAngelo reflected on the incident with Alexandar Georgiev that resulted in his waiver from the New York Rangers three years ago. The altercation happened on Jan. 30, 2021, after an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

DeAngelo started the confrontation by yelling at Georgiev, who had a tough game.

"It was tough game. He (Georgiev) struggled. I struggled in the game," DeAngelo said, "We're playing against Pittsburgh, coming down the tunnel. I yelled at Georgiev, Make a bleep and save 100%. So if I didn't yell at Georgiev, Georgiev wasn't going to turn around and try to do anything.

"That's a fact. So obviously, I started, I wasn't thinking what was going to happen next was going to happen."

Georgiev, frustrated, responded by headbutting DeAngelo, which surprised him. DeAngelo got a cut on his face and tapped Georgiev’s goalie mask with his stick. The altercation took place outside the locker room but was quickly broken up by teammates.

"That was a surprise to me, you know, but Georgiev's running hot after the game. Struggled in the game, right? And he turns around and fires a headbutt at me," DeAngelo said.

"So, you know, he got a goalie mask on. I only got the fire visor. So I get a little, you know, my face cut on the side of my face. So I can't really hit him. So I just hit him, like, quick (with stick impression)."

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Tony DeAngelo later got traded by the New York Rangers

After the incident, both players were told not to attend practice. The Rangers organization knew they needed to act swiftly. Jeff Gorton, the general manager at the time, quickly decided to waive DeAngelo.

Tony DeAngelo expected a trade but found out through Twitter that he was placed on waivers.

"And, you know, so the stories start coming out the next day." DeAngelo said. "I wasn't. We're told, don't come to the rink ... I had a feeling something was gonna. Gonna come there. I thought I was gonna get traded, to be honest with you."

He wasn’t completely shocked, acknowledging that his rough start to the season played a role in his release.

"And I wind up getting put on release waivers. 12 o'clock, Elliott Friedman broke the news. I didn't even know yet. And I see through Elliot Friedman on Twitter that I was on waivers," DeAngelo added.

Despite the incident, DeAngelo and Georgiev moved on, as the former shared that they shook hands and greeted each other when they met again later.

For the next season, he signed with the Carolina Hurricanes on a one-year deal.

Tony DeAngelo played 167 games for the Rangers, recording 19 goals and 73 assists.