"He's a team cancer, stay away": Oilers fans reject Tony DeAngelo's rumored interest in joining Edmonton Oilers

Former Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo has been linked to the Edmonton Oilers in the offseason. The Oilers are on the lookout to fill in their blue line since losing both Dylan Holoway and Phillip Borberg to the St. Louis Blues.

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that DeAngelo’s name could be in the mix as the player would ‘love to be in Edmonton’. He said:

“I’ll throw one other name at you that I don’t think has gotten much play internally but I think is a better player than all the names that I mentioned and who’s still unsigned: Tony DeAngelo.”

“I think what you’re talking about is the potential for a 50-point defenceman on your team that is still in his 20s, that is ready, willing, and able to play for close to the league minimum, and would absolutely love to be in Edmonton.”

However, fans were against the idea of welcoming the 28-year-old to Edmonton. They let their opinions be known on social media.

Following are some fan reactions from X/Twitter:

“He’s a team cancer …. Stay away.”

“I mean no one is lining up to sign him... makes sense he would 'love' to play in Edmonton. I'm sure he would 'love' to play anywhere,” quipped one user.

“His only redeeming quality as a player is being a remotely okay PP QB which is pretty much the last thing they need a defenceman. Trade for Fabbro,” opined another fan.

Fans believed that the player isn’t necessarily inclined to only signing with Edmonton, given he is still without a contract in the offseason. They criticized the player’s game and warned the Oilers against signing him.

“He’d love to play for any NHL team at this point. Problem? He’s terrible.”

“Tell Seravalli to let Tony know we said No thanks!” wrote one user.

“And I’d love for him to not be in Edmonton 😂,” commented another fan.

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Frank Seravalli claims Tony DeAngelo is a ‘well-liked’ teammate

The reason fans do not consider DeAngelo a good fit for the Oilers defense is in part because of the player’s offensive style of play, and of course, his controversial reputation and social media presence. In the same report, however, Frank Seravalli claimed that Tony DeAngelo is still a well-liked teammate.

“All the intel that I have is that he’s a really well-liked teammate,” Seravalli said. “Have there been some skirmishes or scuffles that have popped up over the course of his career? Did he gain notoriety for his Twitter account? Yeah, I mean, those things are all true, or some of them are true, some of them have become legend.”

Seravalli then argued that when building a team, especially one like the Oilers aiming to win the Stanley Cup, it’s not just about picking popular or community-friendly players. Instead, the focus should be on assembling a team that can actually win.

He compared the situation to the Oilers' decision to sign Evander Kane, who, according to him, also had a controversial background but brought value to the team's success. Seravalli mentioned that winning the Stanley Cup should be the priority for the team right now, even if it means considering players who might not be fan favorites.