New York Rangers training camp is in its early phases in Tarrytown, New York, meaning that hockey isn't far away. One of the players that will be sparking league-wide interest is Alexis Lafreniere, a player who is arguably the Rangers' best right winger and a player that shined on a line with dynamic playmaker Artemi Panarin on the left and center Vincent Trocheck being a strong piece on the line as well. Last season was one to remember for Lafreniere, the 22-year-old winger putting up 28 goals and 57 total points in the 2023-24 regular season, 52 of them being at even strength. The question for Lafreniere will be simple: how can he build on last season's breakout?
A Season to Remember
Alexis Lafreniere's star burned bright in the 2023-24 season, where he posted the aforementioned 57 points and produced at an even higher clip in the playoffs, putting up 8 goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games. The biggest and only major change was lineup-wise, where Lafreniere was given a chance with superstar Artemi Panarin to unlock his potential. Lafreniere was finally given a true chance to shine on Broadway, being given nightly top 6 minutes for the first time in his career. The difference between earlier seasons is almost night and day for Lafreniere. His second line would often find themselves carrying the brunt of the offensive load, considering the first line of Zibanejad-Kreider-Wheeler and later Roslovic struggled mightily for the Rangers throughout last season. Considering this, Lafreniere's ascent into a top 6 role couldn't have come at a better time, with the second line often scoring the only goals for the Rangers on certain occasions. In the playoffs, Lafreniere's game gained even more respect, as he scored multiple highlight reel goals without the help of his linemates against the Panthers, most notably his go-ahead goal in game 3 against the Panthers, pulling off a ridiculous show of skill in sunrise to contribute to a Rangers win.
The Powerplay Issue
Lafreniere's ascent has created one issue, however, a question of powerplay personnel. Lafreniere was stuck on the Rangers' second powerplay unit for the entire season, often only getting 20 to 30 seconds of ice time in those spots. Consequently, Lafreniere only logged 5 points on the powerplay all season, arguably making his raw stats even more impressive. Scoring 52 points at even strength is something that not many NHLers can do, and Lafreniere doing it in his age-22 season makes it all the more impressive.
(photo credit: NewYorkPuck.com)
On Wednesday, coach Peter Laviolette talked about training camp and the fact that it's a great opportunity for working out new lineups and testing new strategies. Regarding the powerplay, Laviolette remarked, "This is what training camp is for, it's an opportunity or a chance to look at different people and different units. You try and find the balance sometimes between something that was really successful, and then mixing it up and moving it around. But there will be opportunities where things will get looked at differently through training camp." Lafreniere feels like the sixth option for the potential powerplay one, but what role would he take? Adam Fox is the quarterback, and Chris Kreider is at the net front. You can't justify replacing Panarin, so do you replace Trocheck or Zibanejad? My argument would be to replace Zibanejad, as Trocheck is the better faceoff man on the first powerplay unit. If Lafreniere takes that role, his second big boom could occur. Giving the youngster prime ice time on a strong powerplay unit could see his point totals take a large leap from where they were last year.
A Playoff Performer
Lafreniere only continued to build on his amazing season, where he scored 8 goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games, averaging 0.87 points per game. His on ice xG% (expected goals percentage) was 55.9%, higher than every other forward on the Rangers except for Artemi Panarin, who had a 65.6% (per moneypuck). Lafreniere's skill was truly on display for all to see, and it was a huge jump for Lafreniere in playoff performance compared to his previous two playoff campaigns, where he only posted 2 goals and 9 points in 27 playoff games over two postseasons.
What to Expect in 24-25
After another strong season, expect Lafreniere to come out in full force this season. Growth is expected out of the young gun, who turns 23 on October 11. With most of his career still well ahead of him, look for my prediction of 35 goals, 42 assists for 72 points. I think this is realistic as I think he will get some time with the number 1 powerplay unit, but ultimately I believe most of his points will come at even strength yet again. GM of the Rangers Chris Drury remarked earlier in the off-season that Lafreniere still has "10-15% more" he can give, definitely inspiring words from the GM of the organization. Time will tell if Lafreniere's growth stays linear, as many teams will be looking to shut down his line this season, so it will be interesting to see how the young winger can grow as he has since he's entered the league. Overall, expect another strong campaign from the 22 year old as he looks to cement himself into the Rangers core and earn a large extension in a contract season.
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