Kings won’t do it.

Kings decline, I think they're higher on Byfield than Turcotte, and if they really want to improve (Which I think they will want to based on this season's performance), they'll move Turcotte or other assets for win-now pieces (JT Miller, Chychrun, Giroux, Pavelski, etc.)

Perhaps they won't...but with the likes of Kopitar, Danault, Turcotte, Vilardi, Kupari, Lizotte etc. their center depth is extremely stacked. Naturally losing a talent like Byfield hurts but it's not like Lafreniere is any less skilled.

No chance Byfield gets traded. His ceiling his higher than Laf

I really don't see LA making such moves this year. They're not near contending status.

I like the trade idea, it makes sense for both sides (Fills needs both teams) but Byfield has a higher ceiling so Kings would say no

I'm rather curious to exactly why people think this. They were drafted first and second year and a half ago and Laffy is a proven established NHL talent at 20, while Byfield has barely even played in NHL thus far. Rather ironically just both players have the same problem - they're stuck in their respective team's system due to their positional depth being so stacked.

If I’m being honest, it’s a good thing we’ve got legit forwards because it’s getting to the point where all our forward prospects are just not what they’re supposed to be. They might play okay, but for sure fire picks they’ve underwhelmed. It seems we only know how to draft d man. Hopefully Othmann can turn that trend around, but as it stands from 2017 to now, Chytil, Andersson, Kravtsov, Kakko and Laf have looked awful. That could be due to ****ty development, but something’s gotta change when 5 straight forward prospects, 4 of whom, were top 10 picks look nothing like 1st round picks.

If they aren't looking to add, they aren't looking for a change of scenery for Byfield either. They're more likely to stand pat than move Byfield already.

Why is Byfield perceived to have a higher ceiling?

Shiny New Toy Syndrome

Even though I agree that it's not good idea to move prospects willy-nilly, it's not like Lafreniere differs a lot from Byfield potential wise. They were consecutive top two picks in the same draft, just stuck in their respective team's system due to their immense depth.

Or, you know, New York should have just drafted Byfield instead, knowing that they had signed Kreider to a long term deal, have Panarin and Kakko, and have been missing a good 1C/2C combo for a decade.

I mean, either way both teams got players who will be great. But New York has to lay in the bed that they made when it comes to these two.

Kings will hold onto Byfield, thanks =)

I mean, if Lafreniere was the next Crosby, he should be on line 1 by now regardless of depth. I just don't think it makes sense for the Kings to make any "change of scenery" moves with their prospects until they know what they have in them.

NYR is not exactly an ideal place for a prospect to be it seems.

Byfield was nearly a year younger at the draft, less physically (despite the size he still hasnt fully grown into and gotten used to his body) and mentally mature, and overall just less polished. Many pundits were saying that Lafreniere was the go-to pick for NYR because he looked like an All-Star prospect already, while Byfield would likely take 4-5 years to polish the natural gifts he has. Thats a lot of time to have to place a bet on, but the sentiment was "IF -- and that's a big if -- Byfield hits his ceiling, it might be higher than Lafreniere's." Laffy just had a much higher floor.

Granted when the majority of favorite positions and ice time are taken up by Strome, Panarin, Kreider and Zibanejad, being the 5th or 6th man in a top 6 kinda makes you obsolete. Those guys don’t need much to play well. Considering Blais, Hunt and Goodrow have been successful with them.

I’d love to see the floor cause he’s running negative or underwater right now.

Generally speaking it's always a better idea to draft the BPA and not look at the positional need. Lafreniere was No. 1 at the draft day, and considering that he's still the one who plays in the NHL while the other one is in the AHL until recently I'd argue Laf still has the edge.

What NYR couldn't have projected is the fact that their other LWs stepped up their game to the point where Laffy simply is stuck in that system. And now that they're competing the positional importance is looming back.

If NYR had foreseen the events from year and a half ago, they probably would have picked Byfield. But it's hard to project future, is it.

Regardless, I'm of the opinion that as of now in a Byfield-Lafreniere swap there's no real losers. I think both benefit of this one.

Interesting.

So to sum it up, Lafreniere's potential is basically the next Huberdeau or probably even better, while Byfield based on his size and skillset could be anything between prime Kevin Hayes and prime Evgeni Malkin (don't pay much atention to the examples, was just thinking about big centers).

Rangers haters will say it's because Laf iS a bUsT

Lol he's still a kid, and youre asking him to unseat pros who have scored ridiculous amounts of points and have years of experience.

I haven't watched many Rangers games, but I wouldn't throw him out just yet. And I say that as a Kings fan who has to watch Zegras score lacrosse goals while Turcotte continues to marinate in the minors.

The biggest problem with the Rangers that I can see, as an outside source with admittedly little insight into how that org is run, is the ridiculous need to play their prospects in the NHL right away. It shouldn't matter what spot you're picked at in the draft, if you're not ready you aren't ready. Period. Rushing these guys has been an absolute killer. However, I sort of understand the desire as they probably promised guys like Panarin and Trouba (their big UFA acquisitions) that they'd compete NOW.

Kings are going the opposite route and just taking sooooo much time to slowly increment their high draft picks. Much to the frustration of us fans sometimes lol.

This is my thought process.
Laf had a higher ceiling coming out of the draft. Now in his 2nd NHL season, he's on pace for fewer points than his rookie year. With the Rangers poor development system, I think he won't be as good as he was projected.
Kings are taking it slow with Byfield and giving him time to develop. No need to rush him when the Kings already have a bunch of good NHL centers. When Kopitar starts to decline, then I think Byfield will get an increased role and replace him

Yes if both hit their potential, I’ll take Malkin over Huberdeau

He's certainly playing below the expected level but at least he's playing in the big leagues.

I think NYR is in the position where they need to pay attention to results more than development of young players, particularly forwards. Which sucks because at the same time NYR's core is relatively young - like do they have any 30+ forwards?