Why Rangers decision to solve Lafreniere problem created ‘new lease on life’
Before reading further, let’s start with this: Alexis Lafreniere is nothing but a good citizen and teammate since joining the New York Rangers as an 18-year-old back in 2020. The only “problem” with him, if you will, is that he really hasn’t lived up to high expectations which come with being the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft.
Lafreniere is a good NHL forward — just not an All-Star, and certainly not a generational talent like some other recent first overall selections, including Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, and Matthew Schaefer.
But Lafreniere has 250 points (116 goals, 134 assists) in 462 NHL games, is a consistent play-driver offensively, and missed just three games in his first six seasons. However, he never topped 57 points in a single season, and it was a bad look when his production cratered in 2024-25 after he received a seven-year, $52.15 million contract extension.
That, and a slow start last season, helped fuel trade rumors. The heat turned up even more on Lafreniere because the Rangers seriously struggled offensively and dropped to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
“You can either trade your problem or solve your problem,” NHL insider Elliotte Friedman explained on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. “It’s always better to solve your problem, and I think that there’s a bit of a chance here for a new lease on life for him with the team, and I think that’s real important that it starts well for them next year.”
A strong finish this past season by Lafreniere after joining Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault on the top line following the Olympic break just may have saved his future with the Rangers.
From Jan. 31 through the end of the 2025-26 season, coinciding with the trade of his former linemate Artemi Panarin to the Los Angeles Kings in early February, Lafreniere put up 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in the final 27 games. He notched a hat trick and four times recorded three points in a game.
Lafreniere tied his career high with 57 points, first set in 2023-24. His 33 assists were a career best, and his 53.45 percent expected goal share 5v5 led all Rangers forwards, per PuckPedia.
There weren’t nearly as many Lafreniere trade rumors this offseason.
“Lafreniere, I think, is in a better place. And I think they’re in a better place with him,” Friedman said. “I think there was a time last year where everyone didn’t think this was in a place that it would work. I think there’s a bit of a better feeling now post-Panarin that there’s more of a role for him, where he can be successful.”
Increased production from Alexis Lafreniere ‘would be massive’ for Rangers
In fact, during a busy offseason when general manager Chris Drury retooled several areas of New York’s roster, Lafreniere, now 24, appears to be a foundational piece moving forward. The Rangers built up around him, Igor Shesterkin, Adam Fox, Vladislav Gavrikov, Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, and Perreault, notably trading for high-scoring forward Pavel Dorofeyev, and acquiring top-four defensemen Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson in separate deals.
The Rangers also traded veteran two-way center Vincent Trocheck to the Utah Mammoth. Trocheck, who turns 33 this month, will be awfully difficult to replace, putting a bit more pressure on Lafreniere and Co. at each end of the rink.
Do these moves, along with continued improvement from Lafreniere and Perreault, get the Rangers back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs next spring? Friedman wouldn’t go that far, but he thinks things are headed in the right direction.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to expect from these guys next year,” he said. “I think they should be better, but Trocheck is a big hole. I think Lafreniere, if it’s really going in the direction it sounded like it was going at the end of last year, I think it would be massive for these guys.”
