DeAngelo gets another NHL chance.
The New York Islanders shocked the hockey world when they inked defenseman Tony DeAngelo to a contract for the rest of the 2024-25 season.
With defenseman and power-play quarterback Noah Dobson out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, the Islanders are clearly not ready to quit on their season despite being seven points out of a wild-card spot.
General manager Lou Lamoriello elected to bring in a player who matches their structure and can boost the league's worst power play.
However, there was a caveat to the signing.
Because DeAngelo was coming over from the KHL, he needed to pass through waivers first before joining the Islanders.
He was placed on waivers Friday, and with 2 PM ET hitting on Saturday, DeAngelo is now a member of the Islanders.
He is eligible to play in their game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
The Islanders do have to make one roster transaction to become cap-compliant by 5 PM ET.
Because DeAngelo is on the roster, the Islanders can waive anyone since that process takes 24 hours. They must either send down a player who is waiver-exempt (Marc Gatcomb is the likely option) or place Dobson on long-term injured reserve.
Dobson is currently listed on IR, but it is not known if that is LTIR as of now.
DeAngelo, if in the lineup on Saturday, is expected to play alongside Alexander Romanov and quarterback the top power-play unit with Dennis Cholowski coming out of the lineup.