The New York Rangers were over the moon when they won the draft lottery back in 2020 and earned the privilege of selecting first overall in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. The guaranteed number-one pick in the draft is exactly who the Rangers ended up taking in Alexis Lafreniere out of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) after he exploded offensively in the previous two seasons. While his start with the Rangers has been slower than expected for someone who had over 250 points in the QMJHL in his career, he has recently been making a case to earn a massive contract extension before his deal is up at the end of the 2024-25 season.
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While his tenure with the Rangers hasn’t been the most exciting one for a prospect with such high expectations, he did earn himself a bridge deal on his extension this past summer and has been making the most of this opportunity with the team. He has been elevated to a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, who seem to be one of the best lines in hockey right now, but Lafreniere has taken his game to another level. His offensive production may not jump out at anybody but his impact defensively and as a supporting member in the top six has been lethal for the Rangers this season.
This season with the Rangers, Lafreniere has scored 11 goals and added 15 assists for 26 points through 42 games and is on pace to beat his previous record of 39 points in a single season. While the recent contract extension he signed was a clear “prove it” type of deal from the Rangers, he seemingly plays with no pressure on himself and has been one of the strongest players in the Rangers’ lineup this season. With all of the uncertainty surrounding him coming into the season about whether or not he could live up to the expectations, he has been silencing everyone who questioned him and is in for a career year.
With 258 games played at the NHL level, Lafreniere has scored 58 goals and added 59 assists for 117 points which comes out to a 0.45 points-per-game average. When you compare that to his production before joining the NHL where he played in the QMJHL, it’s quite different. In 173 games played in the QMJHL with Rimouski Oceanic, he scored 114 goals and added 183 assists for 297 points which comes out to a 1.72 points-per-game average. Now, the hype behind him may be why many fans weren’t pleased with his performance when he first showed up, but the Rangers have been patient with his development and it seems to be paying off.
While a trade may never have seriously been on the table for the Rangers, there had to have been a point where they thought about moving Lafreniere to give him a fresh start. If that is the case and they have chosen to keep him, they must be pleased with their decision. Pairing him up with superstar forward Panarin as well as Trocheck all while filling out the rest of the lineup with solid players has to do well for his confidence.
What’s Next For Lafreniere?
The Rangers are in a bit of a slump lately. While they won their previous matchup against the Washington Capitals, they had lost the four games before that. Lafreniere continues to play consistently well in the top six and is making a strong case to earn a massive extension when his contract is up at the end of next season if he can have a strong second half of the 2023-24 season.
It’d be nice if he could boost his offensive numbers a bit, but as long as he stays on pace for what he could reach this season, the Rangers won’t have any issues with his play. Hopefully, Lafreniere can keep up this solid play that we’ve seen out of him this season and can earn himself a bigger contract. While the Rangers have leverage as Lafreniere is a restricted free agent (RFA) at the end of this deal, it would make sense for them to lock him up now rather than later and risk him getting unhappy.
This would be a much trickier situation if he were an unrestricted free agent at the end of his current deal, but he isn’t. There is also no sign that Lafreniere wants to play anywhere else, so that is another huge positive for the Rangers. While they could hold out and see if they could save money on a bridge deal again, Lafreniere may outplay that type of contract before the end of next season. If he continues to progress in the way we’ve seen this season, the Rangers would be smart to lock him up for a longer contract and not have to worry about losing him to someone else.
When looking at what Lafreniere could get on his next deal, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him earn a four to five-year extension worth between $5-5.75 million per season. He is a solid player and with the salary cap going up next season, he could be in for a nice payday.