from Dave Poulin at the Toronto Star,

Tony DeAngelo is not in an NHL locker room today. He should be. He was tied for fourth among NHL defencemen in scoring last season while playing with the New York Rangers. He is a coveted right-handed shot on the blue line, he runs a power play, he’s effective on the breakout and he plays 18 to 20 minutes a game. The 25-year-old is a perfect fit for an up-and-coming team. Except he’s not.

The question of fit extends to the locker room, where so much was accepted for so long. Change has been occurring in recent years, and that’s a good thing. The hazing and initiations have been eliminated. That “what you see here, what you say here and what you hear here stays here when you leave here” mantra is gone. People simply won’t tolerate what they have in the past.

That includes DeAngelo’s behaviour. The defenceman couldn’t move on from being benched for the second and third games of the season, a decision Rangers coach David Quinn made after DeAngelo committed an unsportsmanlike penalty in the home opener. He was already a controversial figure on social media, supporting the outgoing U.S. president and downplaying COVID-19. And then an altercation with teammate Alexander Georgiev apparently brought things to a head. DeAngelo has played his final game for the Rangers, general manager Jeff Gorton said.

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added 10:05am, Watch Brian Burke on this situation below.