A rotary compressor having a housing, a rotor positioned within the housing defining a compression chamber, the rotor rotatable about an axis of rotation, a discharge port in the rotor in fluid communication with the compression chamber, and a valve assembly mounted to the rotor to regulate the pressure of the fluid within the compression chamber. In one embodiment, the valve assembly is canted or obliquely aligned with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotor and a radial axis perpendicular to and intersecting the axis of rotation. Aligning the valve assembly in this way allows the displacement of the valve head of the valve assembly to be substantially collinear with forces acting on the valve head.