An NHL source confirmed Monday that the Philadelphia Flyers’ attempt to trade defenseman Tony DiAngelo back to the Carolina Hurricanes has stalled under a clause in the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement.

The Flyers acquired restricted free agent rights to DeAngelo, 27, from the Hurricanes on July 7, 2022, for three draft picks. Former Philadelphia general manager Chuck Fletcher signed him to a two-year, $10 million contract.

General Manager Danny Breyer, who had replaced Fletcher and was aggressively reshaping the roster this season, had a deal in place to send DeAngelo back to the Hurricanes for a prospect, with Philadelphia keeping 50% of his salary.

Rule 50.5 of the NHL CBA protects against a team trading a player, whereby another team gets a percentage of his salary, and then quickly reclaims that player at a reduced cap cost. It states that “Under no circumstances shall a club repossess, as part of a Salary Withheld Transaction, the contract of a player who was on the club’s reserve list during the preceding calendar year.”

If the traveler does not keep any paycheck, the transaction will be allowed. But since keeping the salary is key to the deal, the NHL is keeping it. The league is expected to continue discussing the matter at this week’s NHL draft in Nashville, Tennessee.

DeAngelo scored 11 goals and 31 assists in 70 games with the Flyers. He was scratched on multiple occasions by coach John Tortorella late in the season. DeAngelo played one season with the Hurricanes in 2021-22 and had 51 points in 64 games.

Athletic reported first on an NHL investigation.