Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Larry Brooks reflects on the deal that brought Mark Messier to Broadway and helped the Blueshirts and their 54 year Stanley Cup drought (NY Post)
• Brooks also answered questions about Alex Kovalev’s first stint in New York, Ron Francis’ series-changing howitzer in the 1992 playoffs, and more (NY Post)
• Colin Stephenson hears that Chris Kreider and Brendan Lemieux were among the skaters that hit the ice at the Rangers’ practice facility yesterday to kick of Phase 2 of the return to play plan (Newsday)
• Vincent Mercogliano hands out regular season-ending awards to the team’s players (LoHud)
• Steve Paulus examines the organization’s current defensive depth chart (Blue Line Station)
• Scott Blair lists the top 20 goal scorers in franchise history (The Hockey Writers)/

Around the NHL:

• Matt Larkin takes a look at how the San Jose Sharks went from Western Conference finalists with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations to one of the league’s worst teams (The Hockey News)
• All 31 teams revealed their nominee for the Bill Masteron Memorial Trophy (TSN)
• Eric Francis relays word that the Calgary Flames are expected to hold their training camp in the United States once Phase 3 begins (Sportsnet)/