New York Rangers report cards: Grading 20-goal scorers Alexis Lafreniere, Will Cuylle
The New York Rangers finished last in the Eastern Conference and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second straight season in large part because they often struggled to put the puck in the back of the net. The Rangers finished 23rd in the NHL with 235 goals, even despite a power play that ranked fifth in the League, converting at 24.7 percent.
Only three players scored at least 20 goals — it would’ve been four, but the Rangers traded Artemi Panarin (19 goals in 56 games) to the Los Angeles Kings in early February. Mike Zibanejad had a team-high 34 goals, and a pair of 2020 draft picks, Alexis Lafreniere (24) and Will Cuylle (20), accounted for the other 20-goal seasons.
We’ll grade Zibanejad in a separate article. But here, let’s focus on handing out end-of-season reports cards to the pair of 24-year-old forwards, Lafreniere and Cuylle.
Alexis Lafreniere: B-
Lafreniere equaled his NHL career high with 57 points, tying Panarin for second most on the team behind Zibanejad (78). Interestingly, he was his most productive after the Rangers traded Panarin. Lafreniere played a strong, confident game, had the puck on his stick more often the final two months of the season, and found success by consistently getting to the net for deflections and rebounds. He found excellent chemistry on the top line with Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault, and roared to the finish line with 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in the final 26 games. That included a hat trick against the Calgary Flames on May 10 and eight multi-point games in that stretch. Playing all 82 games for the third season in a row, Lafreniere led Rangers forwards with a 53.45 percent expected goal share 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick, and scored a career-best nine power-play goals. There was a lot to like about Lafreniere’s season, and where he, hopefully, is headed next season. But we can’t ignore that his hot streak to close out the season coincided with the Rangers being out of the playoff race, nor that he produced just 30 points in the first 56 games. He opened the season with one goal in 14 games, then had another stretch from late November into December when he scored one goal in 12 games. Overall, though, a pretty solid season. But that inconsistency can’t be overlooked in his final grade.
Will Cuylle: C+
Cuylle scored 20 goals for the second consecutive season and, like Lafreniere, appears to be a member of the Rangers core moving forward in this retool. However, unlike Lafreniere, Cuylle shouldn’t be a top-six fixture. If the Rangers can build themselves back into a playoff contender, they’re best served with Cuylle playing on the third line, and contributing on both special teams. He’s a diligent hard worker, with a scoring touch, and willingness to get to the dirty areas to create havoc and generate offense. Cuylle also has a defensive conscience, plus the ability and willingness to play a physical game. He broke his own Rangers record with 302 hits this season, one more than in 2025-26, and like Lafreniere, played all 82 games. There are plenty of positives with Cuylle, but he also disappeared far too often on the score sheet this season, despite averaging a career-high 16:51 TOI. He was seventh on the Rangers with 38 points, but scored one goal in his first 12 games, and had two in 22 games over a six-week stretch in December and January which helped sink the Rangers season. Cuylle had four goals in the final 19 games, though three came in the same game, a hat trick against the Washington Capitals on April 5. Better consistent production would’ve led to a better overall grade; but Cuylle is part of the answer here, not part of the problem.
