After the New York Rangers reworked one-third of their top-six defense corps earlier this season, their rivals are taking a page from the same book. However, the New York Islanders are doing so out of sheer necessity.
The Islanders acquired defenseman Scott Perunovich from the St. Louis Blues for a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft on Monday. This move follows on the heels of the Islanders signing former Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo as a free agent this past Friday.
The reason for the two recent moves is simple. Two of the Islanders top defensemen were injured in the past week. Noah Dobson is week to week with a lower-body injury and landed on long-term injured reserve. Ryan Pulock is on IR after sustaining an upper-body injury against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
So, the additions of Perunovich and DeAngelo are clearly out of necessity. When the Rangers acquired Will Borgen from the Seattle Kraken and Urho Vaakanainen from the Anaheim Ducks this season, each move was made to improve the existing defense corps, which they largely have since the Blueshirts are 8-2-3 and much better defensively since the New Year.
The Islanders won’t be better with their two new addition on the blue line, replacing two of their best defensemen. But Perunovich and D’Angelo do fill massive holes in the lineup that the Islanders were unable to fill internally.
Rangers rival filling holes on beat-up blue line
Perunovich struggled to find success in the NHL with the Blues the past three seasons. Over 97 games, he has two goals and 29 points. The 2020 Hobey Baker Award winner as the top men’s NCAA hockey player had 17 assists in 54 games last season, when he averaged 15:16 TOI.
This season, Perunovich TOI is down to 14:37, though he scored the first two goals of his NHL career and has six pints in 24 games. He’s a 5-foot-10 puck mover, certainly not built in the mode of the rugged Pulock, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 220 pounds. But Perunovich is an NHL defenseman and fills a need on Long Island. And general manager Lou Lamoriello must be hoping that Perunovich finds his game with this change of scenery.
DeAngelo was signed last week upon returning to North America after he mutually agreed to terminate his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg. He led KHL defensemen with 32 points (six goals, 26 assists) in 34 games, and is more of a natural fit to fill Dobson’s offensive role.
The former Blueshirt is 29 now and four years removed from the end of a controversial run with the Rangers. He played 31 games with the Hurricanes last season.
In his Islanders debut Saturday, DeAngelo logged a game-high 25:07 TOI in the 3-2 overtime win.
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