Alexis Lafreniere eager to rebound under new Rangers coach Mike Sullivan
Alexis Lafreniere hopes a fresh face behind the New York Rangers’ bench means a fresh start for his career.
At what appears to be a crossroads for his NHL future, the Blueshirts’ soon-to-be 24-year-old wing professed excitement at the prospect of playing for new coach Mike Sullivan as training camp opened this week.
“We know exactly what to expect,” Lafreniere said Thursday. “He’s going to push us to be better and be a fast team, play a direct game, just play the right way really. Like I said, it’s good to know what to expect and come to work every day.”
It’s difficult to know whether to read into Lafreniere’s comments as a subtle shot at former coach Peter Laviolette or if he was simply expressing positive vibes over his early impressions of Sullivan, the two-time Stanley Cup-winning coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Either way, Lafreniere is unquestionably under pressure to produce after a highly disappointing 2024-25.
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Alexis Lafreniere’s game sank after signing big extension
The No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft appeared to be putting it all together two seasons ago, recording career highs of 28 goals, 29 assists and 57 points. He added eight goals and six assists in 16 games in the 2025 playoffs, helping the Rangers get within two games of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2014.
Lafreniere’s fast start to last season (four goals and eight points in his first eight games) — was the final feather in his cap that convinced the organization to commit to him long-term, inking Lafreniere to a seven-year, $52.15 million extension ($7.45 million average annual value).
But what happened next has cast significant doubt on his career prospects.
Lafreniere managed 13 goals and 37 points in the Rangers’ final 74 games after signing the lucrative contract. His 17 goals and 45 points represented a major step backwards in production. His conditioning and commitment also appeared to wane, and his 200-foot game — never a strong point — declined noticeably.
Questions of commitment and effort were revived as he looked bad on numerous back-checking efforts and defensive plays.
Lafreniere, who thrived on right wing Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck in 2023-24 on one of the NHL’s most productive lines, finished with a career-worst minus-13. The Rangers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs one season after winning the Presidents’ Trophy, although Lafreniere was hardly the only Ranger to underperform.
For his part, Lafreniere appeared to own last season’s performance and said he worked hard during the offseason to put it behind him.
“I want to have a big year. After last year, I wasn’t really happy with the way I played,” Lafreniere said. “Like I said, I worked even harder this summer and I’ll be ready for the year.”
So what did he do differently this summer?
“Skate more, work out more,” Lafreniere said. “Instead of skating a couple times a week, I skated once or twice more a week and I think that helps a lot to work on your game.”
Lafreniere is saying all the right things in camp, but he’ll have to start proving that last season was just a hiccup right from the get-go. There were plenty of questions about whether he was on his way to bust status before he broke out in 2023-24.
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Rangers hope Alexis Lafreniere will bounce back under new coach
The Rangers have to have a bounce-back season from Lafreniere to return to the playoffs. With an older core forward group and a major commitment to him as a future roster cornerstone, the Blueshirts need Lafreniere to resemble the net-crashing, occasionally snarling force he looked to be on his way to becoming.
To do so, he will have to be in lockstep with Sullivan, general manager Chris Drury’s long-desired top choice to coach the Rangers. Unlike predecessors Laviolette and Gerard Gallant, both of whom lasted only two seasons, Sullivan isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Lafreniere’s NHL fortunes in this pivotal season, his sixth, will be tied to whether he thrives under his new coach — and Sullivan sounds committed to making that happen. He raised the possibility of returning Lafreniere to his natural left wing spot at times, and even to a different line that might not include Panarin or Trocheck.
“You may see Laf on both sides,” Sullivan said. ” … We’ll go through a process where we’ll try to figure what we think is in his best interest to set him up for success, but also the team, and it’s that balance that we’re gonna try to look for.”
Success for Lafreniere will require effort and attention to detail when it comes to playing responsibly at both ends of the ice. Sullivan is known for his determination to hold every player accountable. Lafreniere coming into camp in good shape, as he says he is after his enhanced offseason training regimen, will go a long way toward building credibility with his new coach.
Both sides appear eager to work together as preseason games begin. There are high hopes and high expectations that Lafreniere will have a bounce-back performance — something the Rangers need from a player they have so much invested for the next seven seasons.
