Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Vincent Mercogliano answers questions concerning Alexis Lafreniere, general trade talk around the team, and more (LoHud)
• Jake Mozarsky reminds us not to lose sight of Vitali Kravtsov, as his rookie season is likely to be the 2020-21 campaign as well (Blue Line Station)
• Scott Esposito offers his take on what Jeff Gorton should do with the first overall selection in the 2020 Entry Draft (Blue Line Station)
• Brendan Azoff lists five pending free agents for the Blueshirts to target (Blue Line Station)/

Around the NHL:

• Adam Gretz recaps last night’s playoff action that saw the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders punch their tickets to the Second Round of the 2020 Playoffs (NBC Sports)
• Travis Yost highlights four playoff teams that have established themselves as the class of the league this summer (TSN)
• Luke Fox writes about the unprecedented number of question marks surrounding the Washington Capitals in the wake of their embarrassing playoff exit (Sportsnet)/