Tony DeAngelo breaks his silence.

We have heard a great deal about the incident that ultimately led to the split between controversial National Hockey League defenseman Tony DeAngelo and the New York Rangers organization, but one thing that we have not heard at all is anything from DeAngelo himself. 

Perhaps wisely, for the first time in his NHL career the usually outspoken DeAngelo has chosen to remain quiet and let things settle down a little before speaking. Perhaps it was even to collect his thoughts rather than speak from a place of emotion, something that DeAngelo has done frequently in the past resulting in him finding himself on the receiving end of criticism or backlash from fans and haters alike.

On Friday for the first time DeAngelo spoke to Rangers insider Larry Brooks of the New York Post about the incident, his clash with Rangers goaltender Alexandar Georgiev following a miscommunication between the two in overtime that resulted in a loss for the blueshirts. To his credit DeAngelo did not shy away from responsibility, admitting that he had not acted in an appropriate fashion. He appeared to largely take the blame for what transpired between him and his teammate.

"I’m obviously disappointed about the way things ended in New York and how things have unfolded, but I’m not going to sit here and play the victim card at all," said DeAngelo as per Brooks.

"Hockey-wise, there are mistakes that I have made. I’ve gotten hot-headed at times. I’m the first one to admit that and I take responsibility for it. I’ve tried to learn and get better and better at it, but there are still times where things have happened and emotionally I’ve gone over the line a little bit, and I accept responsibility for that. The thing with Alex, exactly like he said, emotions got away."

Following the incident that occurred between DeAngelo and Georgiev there were a number of rumors that made the rounds, the most heinous of which suggested that DeAngelo had been racially abusive towards his teammates, specifically K'Andre Miller. These rumors have been categorically denied by those alleged to have been involved, however DeAngelo himself has not had the chance to address those very serious accusations prior this interview. The Rangers defenseman vehemently denied being a racist, an insurrectionist, an extremist, or anything of the sort. 

"That stuff is completely false," said DeAngelo. "That’s nothing that I stand for and I don’t think anyone stands for. People have different opinions and I respect everyone’s opinion. I never attack anyone for their opinion. I have mine that obviously I shared, but I never thought that I crossed the line with anything."

Miller's own agent Ian Pulver has come to the defense of DeAngelo in this matter, something I do not believe he would do had his client been the target of racial abuse.

"It’s K’Andre’s understanding that the NYR equipment manager, or whoever is responsible for getting it, has the puck and that it’s being framed like other first goals," said Pulver in response to allegations that DeAngelo had stolen the puck from Miller's first NHL goal. "At no time did he think otherwise."

The big question of course remains what will come next for the controversial blue liner.