Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• Brian Abate highlights Kaapo Kakko as a player who will need to step up in a major way if the Rangers are to improve in 2022-23 (The Hockey Writers)
• Arthur $taple chatted with Alexi$ Lafreniere about his $ophomore $ea$on a$ a pro, hi$ expectation$ moving forward, and more (The Athletic)

Around the NHL:

• Travis Yost examines the left wing depth charts across the league and ranks them accordingly (TSN)
• Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov has reportedly left his native Russia and is expected to return to the United States today (Sportsnet)