Tony DeAngelo ‘could care less’ if Rangers fans boo him in Garden return

All eyes will be on Hurricanes defenseman Tony DeAngelo when he returns to the Garden Tuesday to play his former Rangers team, following his bad breakup with New York.

DeAngelo was all smiles while discussing his return, which also includes ex-Rangers Derek Stepan, Brendan Smith, Jesper Fast and Brady Skjei.  

“I think I was liked by a good majority of fans, obviously a little portion there that probably didn’t. But that’s fine, if they have anything for me, I could care less,” DeAngelo told said before Tuesday’s game — between the top two teams in a tight Metropolitan Division race.

He noted that his other teammates returning to the Garden should likely receive a “positive” reception from fans, “but I don’t know about myself.”

DeAngelo hasn’t played a game at the Garden since January 30, 2021, after he had a physical altercation with Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev after a 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins. DeAngelo was placed on waivers after the incident.

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“There’s been some chatter,” said Smith about the ex-Rangers return to New York. “Could be no reaction, could be a weird one. We’ll have to see.”

For DeAngelo, his Rangers drama is in the past.

“I took the brunt of it, (was) made the poster child for it, but everything worked out for the best,” he told The Athletic on Tuesday. “Even not getting traded last year, as much as I would have liked to play, that worked out because I got to come to Carolina. Who knows where I would have ended up if things worked out differently.

“This is a perfect spot for me, I love playing for Rod [Brind’Amour]. If I was looking around the league and (someone asked) me where could I go, this is the place.”

DeAngelo — who leads Carolina defensemen with 10 goals, and is averaging 19:43 per game — said he was excited to see his former Rangers teammates after New York’s recent visit to Raleigh last month.

“You know what? I had good relationships with a lot of people here,” DeAngelo said. “People might not realize that and they might not say that now, but I was one of the first guys to text Gorts (ex-GM Jeff Gorton) and Quinny when they got let go. People have a bit of a misunderstanding about me and Quinny. We didn’t agree on all things, but it wasn’t like we didn’t get along. I liked him, I think he liked me. Outside hockey, we got along really well.”

“You never want to see someone get fired, right? Gorts has landed back on his feet and I’m sure Quinny will too. I was disappointed for those guys because I knew what they were building here. And now you see them sitting there with 100 points and 10 games left.”

DeAngelo’s Hurricanes teammates supported him, vowing to The Athletic how much of a good guy he is.

“I know what type of guy he is. He’s a great guy,” Fast said. “Hopefully they can see past what happened there last year. Coming here, knowing him from before, he’s a good guy in the room. Hopefully, he gets the same reception as the rest of us.”

Smith echoed similar comments saying DeAngelo has done a good job of putting it behind him and playing well.

“In our league, it’s about being consistent and playing well, and he’s done that,” Smith said. “I’m proud of him for doing that. He’s been our X-factor. He was kind of like that in New York, when you saw him and Breadman [Artemi Panarin] making plays all over the place. It’s been a good marriage for our team.”