With Noah Dobson absent from week to week, the New York Islanders brought in Tony DeAngelo, 29, on Friday.
The hope is that the puck-moving power play specialist can help Long Island stay in the playoff conversation and eventually get there.
Signed to a one-year, pro-rated deal for the remainder of the season, DeAngelo is a low-risk, high-reward move, from a hockey perspective.
While this isn’t exactly the same decision the Islanders made when they claimed Mike Reilly off waivers last season, it certainly follows a similar storyline and the team is hoping it has an ending similar.
On November 24, 2023, the Islanders lost defensemen Adam Pelech and Sebastian Aho in a 5–3 win against the Ottawa Senators.
On November 25, the Islanders requested a waiver for Reilly, who had played in only two games with the Florida Panthers.
The blue line mate had to fight for a starting role with Samuel Bolduc and Aho once Aho returned. Reilly quickly won the job.
Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
Reilly proved to be a solid option and quickly became the Islanders’ best puck-moving defenseman. We counted on him in big moments, especially during the second power play unit.
In 59 games, Reilly has scored six goals with 18 assists for 24 points, three points shy of his career-high of 27 points, which he accomplished in 55 games in 2020-21.
Reilly n’était qu’une pièce du puzzle des séries éliminatoires des Islanders, mais un élément clé en plus. And because of his success and his integration into Patrick Roy’s system, he returned for the 2024-2025 season with a one-year contract worth $1.25 million.
Unfortunately for Reilly and the Islanders, he suffered a concussion on November 1, his 11th game of the season, and tests revealed a heart defect that required surgery. There is no timetable for his return.
Now, DeAngelo comes to fill Dobson’s void, but also Reilly’s, with the Islanders six points out of the second wild card spot with two games in hand.
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