After a short stint in the KHL, Tony DeAngelo is coming back to the NHL.
The 29-year-old defenceman signed a one-year contract for the remainder of the 2024-25 season with the New York Islanders on Friday, the team announced.
Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli reported that the deal is for a prorated league minimum of $775,000 and that DeAngelo will have to be placed on waivers Friday because he played in Russia.
Earlier this month, DeAngelo had his contract terminated by SKA Saint Petersburg so he could return home for family reasons. He led the team in assists, with 26, and in scoring among all defencemen with 32 points in just 34 games.
DeAngelo suited up for 371 career NHL games with the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and, most recently, the Carolina Hurricanes, before signing a one-year contract to head to Russia at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
He has 48 goals and 162 assists during his NHL career.
He will help fill in for the injured Noah Dobson, who is week to week after sustaining a lower-body injury during Monday night's 3-1 win against Columbus. An offensive-minded defenceman, he is also expected to help on the power play, which is last in the NHL at 12.5 per cent.
DeAngelo is a former 19th-overall draft pick by Tampa Bay who gained notoriety for a physical altercation on Jan. 30, 2021, with then-teammate Alexandar Georgiev of the New York Rangers, an incident he elaborated on in August on the Morning Cuppa Hockey podcast on Daily Faceoff.
The incident prompted the Rangers to place DeAngelo on unconditional waivers and eventually buy him out, despite having played just six games that season, which had been delayed due to the pandemic.
The Islanders began the day in 15th place in the Eastern Conference, eight points behind Columbus for the conference's second wild card.
--with files from The Associated Press
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