The NHL blocked the Philadelphia Flyers from trading Tony DeAngelo to the Carolina Hurricanes

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Josh tupper
June 26, 2023 (9:10)

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On Saturday it seemed that Daniel Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers were on their way to completely altering the culture of the franchise. It appeared the Flyers had two major trades in the works. Fast forward 48 hours and neither trade has been completed and now it appears neither is close at this time either.

One of the rumoured deals saw Tony DeAngelo return to the Carolina Hurricanes after just a year in Philadelphia. The deal would see the Flyers retain 50% of DeAngelo's deal in exchange for a low end center prospect.

However, it appears the NHL has stepped in and refused to approve this trade. According to Pierre LeBrun the NHL has some concerns about DeAngelo being returned to Carolina in a salary retained deal, less than a year after an initial trade.

The Hurricanes and Flyers were in agreement in principle on Tony DeAngelo going to Carolina for a prospect and Philadelphia retaining 50 percent of his remaining $5 million salary and cap hit for next season. But my understanding is that the NHL took issue with DeAngelo going back to Carolina within a year of his trade from the Hurricanes. There's language in the CBA about a player returning within 12 months, especially on a retained salary, as being possible circumvention.

I believe both the Flyers and Hurricanes have argued with the league about this, saying: 1) His contract wasn't even signed with Carolina; it was Philadelphia that signed him last summer to a two-year, $10 million deal. And 2) Chuck Fletcher was the GM who traded for DeAngelo and signed him, and he's no longer there so how could any of this be a circumvention?

The Flyers and Hurricanes can wait out the NHL and process this deal on July 9th, the one-year anniversary of the initial trade, but it appears once again the NHL has chosen to fight a battle not worth fighting.