Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

• In the wake of posting a laughably terrible 2-3-5 stat line through 19 games in Hartford this season, the Rangers mercifully reassigned Ryan Gropp to ECHL Maine (CBS)
• Colin Stephenson examines how the Rangers will use their lengthy break before heading down to the Sunshine State later in the week (Newsday)
• Frank Curto recaps the roster transactions the team made yesterday (Elite Sports NY)
• Dave Shapiro relays word that Filip Chytil has been named to the Czech national team for the upcoming World Junior Championships (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Pat Keogh offers his take on the current state of the Blueshirts (Blue Seat Blogs)
• Jeff Jones suggests that a Kevin Shattenkirk+<—>Alexander Steen+ swap could make sense for the Rangers and St. Louis Blues (St. Louis Game Time)
• Amanda from BSB gives her two cents on why people like Vinni Lettieri so much (Blueshirts Breakaway)
• David Bruce attempts to slow down the hype train surrounding New York’s top prospects (Blue Line Station)
• Karly Redpath reminisces on the top five save from November (Blue Line Station)/

Around the NHL:

• “Bertuzzi suspended after brutally sucker punching Colorado Avalanche player”, and no, that headline isn’t from 2004 (Sporting News)
• Gary Bettman spoke following the league’s Board of Governors meeting, and announced a projected salary cap ceiling of $83 million for the 2019-2020 campaign (Sportsnet)
• Two player exchanges happened yesterday, as the Anaheim Ducks acquired Daniel Sprong from Pittsburgh, and the Toronto Maple Leafs shipped Josh Leivo out to Vancouver in the wake of Willaim Nylander’s arrival (TSN)
• Ryan Kennedy examines the biggest surprised on and off of Team Canada’s initial roster for the World Junior Championships (The Hockey News)/