It appears Tony DeAngelo is doing as much as possible to change how he is viewed by some hockey fans. After being bought out by the New York Rangers, DeAngelo landed in Raleigh on a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. That immediately raised some eyebrows as DeAngelo was suspended twice in the OHL for
using slurs against teammates and would now not just be teammates, but possibly even linemates, with fellow defenceman
Ethan Bear. Bear was just traded to Carolina from the Edmonton Oilers. He is Cree and was raised in the Ochapowace Nation in Saskatchewan. Bear was asked by a reporter Friday whether he was worried about playing with DeAngelo.
"He actually messaged me yesterday and I really appreciated that from him," said Bear. "I never judge a book by its cover and I always believe everyone deserves a second chance. And you never know what can happen."
I have to say, this is a very mature response from Bear. He has talked about racism he has faced in the past while coming up through the junior hockey system.
During a recent press conference, DeAngelo insisted he is a changed person and would not cause any problems whatsoever with the Hurricanes. Outside of the slurs that he was suspended for using in the Ontario Hockey League, DeAngelo has been suspended in the past for abuse of officials and has a reputation for not being the greatest teammate. It was a dustup with teammate Alex Georgiev following a loss that was the last straw for the Rangers. It appears he is trying to change that. Whether he can stay on the straight and narrow remains to be seen.
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