The New York Rangers have announced that defencemen Tony DeAngelo will be sidelined for 3-4 weeks with a sprained right ankle.

Damage to ankle, damage to Tony DeAngelo's development. https://t.co/9jNiMQk6k7 (Update: it's a "sprain" that will likely sideline him for remainder of season)

— Larry Brooks (@NYP_Brooksie) March 14, 2018

Tony DeAngelo Injured

DeAngelo suffered the injury after crashing into the boards hard during Monday’s game and didn’t return. The injury comes at a terrible time for DeAngelo as he is developing into a solid defenseman. Coach Alain Vigneault had this to say about it.

“It’s unfortunate, but injuries are part of the game, players get them, and they’ve got to work real hard with the right mindset to get themselves back in the groove.

“But I do think that in the short amount of time that he was here, he was making some positive strides in his game, understanding the game, and coming along for us as a good right-handed D.

So far this season he has eight assists in 32 games. He also added eleven minutes in penalties. His possession numbers are 50.2% Corsi and a relative Corsi of 6%.

Over his two year NHL career, DeAngelo has played for the Arizona Coyotes and the Rangers. He has put up five goals and 17 assists for 22 career points in 71 career games. He was originally drafted in the 1st round, 19th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

What This Means for the Future

So far this year DeAngelo has been playing on the top defensive pairing with Brady Skjei. He is averaging 16:34 of ice time this year. He joins fellow defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk(Torn Meniscus) and Steven Kampfer(Fractured Hand) who are also out with injuries. DeAngelo has been a big producer on the Ranger second power-play unit picking up six of his eight assists with the man advantage.

Expect Neal Pionk or Marc Staal to take over on the first pairing while DeAngelo is out of service. The Rangers have had an off-year and seem to be in the phase of rebuilding when they traded two of their top players in Rick Nash to Boston Bruins and Ryan McDonagh to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline. While doing this they brought in center Vladislav Namestnikov from Tampa Bay. In seven games since being traded, he has two goals and one assist in 7 games with the Blue Shirts.

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