Flyers’ Tony DeAngelo ejected for spearing Lightning’s Corey Perry in the groin, to face disciplinary hearing

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Tony DeAngelo will have a hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety on Wednesday after he was ejected from a game the previous night for spearing Tampa Bay Lightning forward Corey Perry in the groin. 

The league announced that DeAngelo, who was traded by the Carolina Hurricanes in the offseason, would have a hearing following an incident during Tuesday night’s game, when he was ultimately assessed a 5-minute major and game misconduct, leading to his ejection. 

With the Lightning leading by two with less than three minutes remaining in the third period, DeAngelo approached a scrum in front of the Flyers net. 

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He then took his stick and speared Perry, seemingly in the groin, prompting Perry to fall over. 

The cheap shot brought all the Tampa Bay players on the ice to go after DeAngelo, but the fight was quickly broken up by officials. 

“He tried to slash my stick out of my hands a second beforehand. He talks all game,” DeAngelo said after the game, via ESPN. 

“I asked him to fight, he doesn’t want to fight. He’ll tell you he’s asked me to fight for years. I don’t say no. But wasn’t trying to give him a shot [where it landed]. Replay probably looks worse.”

Flyers head coach John Tortorella said he did not see exactly what happened but believed that DeAngelo “may have crossed the line.” 

“That’s the line you walk, as far as going over the edge,” he said. “I want him to have his personality, to have that competitiveness. A couple of guys I did sit, I wish a little of that would rub off on them. But again, I haven’t seen it, but I think he may have crossed the line.”

DeAngelo is no stranger to controversy. 

After several issues during his tenure with the New York Rangers, he was placed on waivers in January 2021 after reports that he got into a physical altercation with backup goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. 

The Lightning snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Flyers.