The Carolina Hurricanes experienced an extensive roster overhaul this past offseason, bringing in several new names and having to part ways with some as well. The most prominent new skater in town is clearly defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who signed a one-year, $1 million deal after four seasons with the New York Rangers.
The signing drew a lot of criticism from both fans and the media, as DeAngelo is not only one of most brash and unliked personalities in hockey, but he also replaced fan-favorite defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who signed with the New Jersey Devils prior to the 2021-22 season. However, roughly halfway through this season, DeAngelo has proved himself to be a bargain acquisition for Carolina, leading Canes defensemen in points and placing third on the team among all skaters. Although DeAngelo is not the defensive stalwart that Hamilton was in a Hurricanes sweater, his numbers prove he does not have to be.
For starters, DeAngelo plays with a different style and skillset than does Hamilton. While Hamilton was a more balanced player on both offense and defense, DeAngelo specializes in offensive production with his status as a defenseman almost becoming secondary. Even in the offensive zone, Hamilton’s game featured more frequent shots and shooting with more intent to create a rebound chance than to actually score a goal straightaway. On the flip side, DeAngelo utilizes his elite vision to create chances for his teammates by passing and shoots primarily to score rather than to shoot a shot that the goaltender could not corral.
On the defensive end, DeAngelo is not as physical a defender as Hamilton was, generating less hits and taking a lot more hits than Hamilton. Despite this deficiency in his game, DeAngelo still finds alternative ways to create problems for the opposing offense. DeAngelo currently draws 0.88 penalties per game for Carolina, allowing more ice time for one of the top power play units in the NHL. Hamilton never drew more than 0.5 penalties per game for the Canes, but his discipline also kept him on the ice with significantly less PIM/60 than DeAngelo.
With Hamilton also besting DeAngelo in generating takeaways, it is nearly impossible to deny Hamilton’s defensive edge over DeAngelo. But as mentioned earlier, DeAngelo plays a distinctly different style than his predecessor, one that emphasizes passing to boost his teammates’ stats in addition to his own. This impact is evident when comparing the team statistics of this year’s edition of the Canes to the previous three seasons marked by Hamilton.
While not eye-popping, the 2021-22 Carolina Hurricanes have shown slight improvements in Corsi percentage, Fenwick percentage, shots faced percentage and scoring chance percentage. The boost to Fenwick is probably the most attributable to DeAngelo, as his more discretionary approach to shot-taking leads to fewer blocked shots.
Considering that the 2021-22 Hurricanes are nearly identical to their Hamilton-era counterparts in terms of high-danger chance percentage, significantly better scoring chance goal percentage and high-danger goal percentage highlighted the fact that this seasons’ Canes are more lethal when they are presented with scoring opportunities.
Although Hamilton will continue to hold a special place in the hearts of Canes fans for years to come, DeAngelo presents new opportunities for Carolina to make the next step in its transformation into an elite NHL franchise. If DeAngelo can stay out of trouble off the ice, he could be a key contributor to the Hurricanes’ quest for another Stanley Cup.
