What’s going on with the Flyers’ potential Tony DeAngelo trade?

It has been almost three weeks since reports trickled out that the Flyers and the Carolina Hurricanes were working to complete a deal that would send Tony DeAngelo back to Carolina for a prospect.

Sportnet was the first to report the DeAngelo negotiations on June 24, and several other outlets corroborated and added additional reporting in the days that followed. But for now, DeAngelo remains a Flyer and the buzz seems to have quieted.

Here’s the latest about what we know regarding the proposed DeAngelo trade:

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Veteran NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, who works for TSN and the Athletic, reported on June 24 that the Flyers and Hurricanes were close to completing a deal that would have seen the Flyers trade DeAngelo to the Hurricanes and retain 50% of his salary in return for a prospect.

But the deal was not finalized the following day as LeBrun suggested it might be. The explanation for this was that the NHL might have taken issue with DeAngelo returning to Carolina after just one season due to salary-cap circumvention concerns. The league’s collective bargaining agreement has language that tries to protect against these types of trades.

That CBA clause states that a team cannot reacquire a player whom they have retained salary from for a minimum of one year after the date of the transaction. Since the Flyers retaining salary would be essential to facilitating this deal, in theory, the two teams would have had to wait until one calendar year has passed before finalizing the deal.

» READ MORE: Wrong guy. Wrong time. Wrong reasons. Flyers’ trade for Tony DeAngelo is a mistake in every way.

That led to speculation that the deal would be finalized on July 9, one year and a day after the Flyers acquired DeAngelo from the Hurricanes for three drafts picks at the 2022 NHL draft. Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell made the trade seem more like a matter of when and not if during his media availability on July 1.

“Us and Philly have a deal in principle, but it just can’t be executed till a certain date,” Waddell said. “We’re not sure yet, though. As you add good pieces, you always ask: How are you going to make it fit? We’ve got a lot going on this year with contracts and other things. Also potential other opportunities maybe for a trade still. The good thing is that it’s July 1. We’ve got some time to figure this out. Again, when you get presented with good players, it’s something I feel you have to do.”

But July 9 came and went and there was no deal. Flyers general manager Danny Brière has not commented publicly on the situation.

Carolina’s interest in DeAngelo makes sense given the successful 2021-22 season he enjoyed in Raleigh. After being banished for all intents and purposes by the New York Rangers in January 2021 after on- and off-ice incidents, DeAngelo found a new lease on life with the Hurricanes playing alongside Jaccob Slavin, one of the league’s top defensive defensemen. In 64 games, DeAngelo racked up 10 goals and 51 points, and was a plus-30.

But soon after joining the Flyers, what many expected to be the case proved true — Carolina’s defensive structure and a partner like Slavin had helped insulate and largely hide DeAngelo and his defensive weaknesses. While the offensively-gifted DeAngelo still put up numbers in Philly (11 goals and 42 points in 70 games), his defense was mostly a disaster. He finished at minus-27 for the season and ranked dead last among 326 qualified defenseman in terms of even-strength defensive goals above replacement (-10.9), according to Evolving Hockey. DeAngelo, who turns 28 in October, was also scratched for the final five games of last season for an unspecified reason.

But for a team like Carolina, which can shelter DeAngelo defensively and has proven to be able to get the best out of him, he has real value from an offensive standpoint and as a power-play quarterback. With the Flyers reportedly set to retain 50% of his deal, DeAngelo at a $2.5 million cap hit is especially valuable for a contending team like the Hurricanes, who have shown they are comfortable with the person and player.

The issue is that Carolina has a logjam of defenseman and just added to it by signing marquee free agent Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $15.5 million deal ($7.75 million AAV). There’s a decent argument that Orlov, Slavin, Brent Burns, Brady Skjei, and Brett Pesce might comprise the NHL’s best top five on the blue line. The Hurricanes were reportedly shopping Pesce, who is in the final year of a $24.15 million deal, earlier this summer but have yet to find a dance partner.

That leads to the Hurricanes’ pursuit of reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. The 33-year-old Karlsson, who last season became the first defenseman to tally 100 points in a season since 1992 (Brian Leetch), recently asked for a trade from the rebuilding San Jose Sharks. According to various reports, the Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are the two favorites to land the Swedish defenseman, who makes $11.5 million a year.

A move for Karlsson may or may not impact the ultimate completion of the proposed DeAngelo trade, but the Hurricanes keeping as much cap space and options open as they can in the short term certainly makes sense from their perspective as they engage in talks with San Jose. The Hurricanes also might want free cap space to continue to pursue top unsigned forward Vladimir Tarasenko, with whom they’ve engaged this summer.

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While there is no timeline, there remains optimism that a DeAngelo deal still gets done, a source recently told the Fourth Period. The question will be: If the Hurricanes can move Pesce and land Karlsson, is there still room for DeAngelo? DeAngelo and Karlsson are both extremely offensively-inclined players who come with major defensive weaknesses. The Hurricanes already have another offense-first blueliner in Burns as well.

Would Carolina still need DeAngelo, a poor man’s version of Karlsson, if it had the real thing? Nobody can answer that question but Waddell, but for now at least, the wait goes on in regards to DeAngelo’s proposed move to Carolina.