Team: 2021-22 New York Rangers

Initial Creation Date: Nov. 10, 2021

Published: Nov. 10, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Though I'm not a Rangers fan, I have followed Alexis Lafreniere since his days in junior and always felt he had the potential to be an elite player. I'm not talking about franchise caliber, but a good first line left wing who can carry his line like Taylor Hall or Matthew Tkachuk. After he got drafted, I have been more interested in the Rangers and I try to tune into their games whenever I can. However, I have to admit, I haven't seen much that suggests he'll be an NHL caliber player.

Last season, it was understandable to cut him some slack as he didn't play in a year and had to play under David Quinn who wasn't a very tactical coach in terms of attacking systems, he mostly relied on established individual players to facilitate plays through anticipation. However, he is gone and the Rangers brought in Gallant, a coach with pedigree and ability to develop situations suitable for elite talents. Yet it still hasn't gone well, Lafreniere has 4 points through 13 games and the Rangers have just been a very bad 5v5 overall.

My biggest takeaway from watching Lafreniere this season is that he is scared to hold onto the puck and carry it in hopes of facilitating a play with his skillset. Every time he receives it, he defers it right away to a teammate or chips it into the corner for them to chase. Although he has never been a flashy or elusive player even in junior, he has always been known for his ability to carry out plays in tight spaces at the right time and that's just not something we're seeing enough in the NHL. Based on the way that he's playing and the linemates Gallant is putting him with, it seems like they are trying to develop him into a grinder or enforcer rather than a power forward with playmaking abilities. Like he's doing the work physically but they don't seem to believe in his attacking talents and are trying to transform him into someone he's not familiar with.

Although I am not a fan of using advanced analytics to measure a player but I have to admit that there is still hope for Lafreniere despite the poor situation that he's in. He's second amongst Rangers forwards in on ice xGoal share. His individual shooting and chance creation numbers are in the same range as a number of highly rated playmaking wingers:

Lafreniere - 0.726 iXG/60 + 0.8 xA/60
Panarin - 0.715 iXG/60 + 0.853 xA/60
Marner - 0.8 iXG/60 + 0.88 xA/60
Kaprisov - 0.68 iXG/60 + 0.68 xA/60
Marchand - 0.88 iXG/60 + 0.84 xA/60
Gaudreau - 0.75 iXG/60 + 0.92 xA/60
Teravainen - 0.89 iXG + 0.93 xA/60

At this point, it's not even about the linemates that he's playing with or the amount of ice time that he's getting. It really comes down to the style they want him to play, and if they want him to fulfill his potential, they have to allow him to express himself more freely with the puck. Let him try to carry the puck more and give him the opportunity to control the play for his teammates using his instinct. There will be successes and failures, but that's how a player grows, you have to allow him make mistakes. I'd try to give him an extended with Chytil or try to acquire another offensive center like Strome of CHI. If the Rangers don't have belief in Lafreniere's abilities, then it's time to explore trading him for a prospect whom they have a better chance at developing.