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Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part II

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Larrybiv said:
Back to Alexei, this may be a case of the hockey Gods appearing. With hopefully only 2 weeks of Panarin gone, this should absolutely give Laf the chance to make his mark. Huge opportunity that was slowly coming, but now maybe in fast forward mode, which is what we all had hoped for.
By no means am I suggesting he is "replacing" Artemi, but man this is his chance, and maybe set the table for that "Captaincy" that many have predicted. Leadership, and it starts with exceptional on ice "bringing it" type performance
This team will be better in the long run and add additional unification by losing Artemi, as every really good team goes through trials and tribulations. Once hurdled, they should be better for it.
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Good call, dude. That game cured my depression. Lafreniere looked dominant.
 
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Uninstaaled said:
If Strome beefed that opportunity the complaining would be as loud as ever in here.

He should have had 3 points last night. He needs to steal TS's rabbits foot as that guy is picking up points by virtue of breathing these days.
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Doubtful. Not from me at least.

I agree that Laf's puck luck has been ridiculously bad but he also hasn't been making high end plays. Sure, he could have a few more points off of routine plays that usually find the net, but I can't recall an instance where he did something crazy to create a can't miss opportunity for someone that got beefed.

Last night was different. He was commanding the play. Aside from "the pass", there was the turnover created ahead of the backhand crossbar, and at least one other zone entry where he walked the defenseman prior to getting stopped. He was trying things last night that he hadn't been trying previously.

That's all I really care about. He does need to be scoring more points but if he is doing things like this regularly it will calm people down even if the points remain at historic lows.

Also, I very mush disagree about your assessment of Stutzle. Kid is a dynamo.
 
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Synergy27 said:
Doubtful. Not from me at least.

I agree that Laf's puck luck has been ridiculously bad but he also hasn't been making high end plays. Sure, he could have a few more points off of routine plays that usually find the net, but I can't recall an instance where he did something crazy to create a can't miss opportunity for someone that got beefed.

Last night was different. He was commanding the play. Aside from "the pass", there was the turnover created ahead of the backhand crossbar, and at least one other zone entry where he walked the defenseman prior to getting stopped. He was trying things last night that he hadn't been trying previously.

That's all I really care about. He does need to be scoring more points but if he is doing things like this regularly it will calm people down even if the points remain at historic lows.

Also, I very mush disagree about your assessment of Stutzle. Kid is a dynamo.
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That backhand was legit gorgeous. That was another thing I was waiting for, I knew he had an absurd backhander.
 
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It could sound stupid but why do I still feel like Laf at RW next to Panarin could work eventually? I remember when they first played together early in the season they showed some awesome flashes. Although Laf on LW is more than amazing like, it's hard to put him on the 3rd line. It's also hard to put Kakko there when he comes back.

Rangers have a good problem at wing for the foreseeable future in Panarin, Kreider, Laf at LW and Buch, Kakko, and hopefully Kravtsov at RW.

The centers on the other hand... that's a concern. But like, Laf deserves to stay in the top 6. So does Kakko when he's back. I wonder what they do about it all when Bread returns. Which I hope is soon.
 
Igor Shestyorkin said:
It could sound stupid but why do I still feel like Laf at RW next to Panarin could work eventually? I remember when they first played together early in the season they showed some awesome flashes. Although Laf on LW is more than amazing like, it's hard to put him on the 3rd line. It's also hard to put Kakko there when he comes back.

Rangers have a good problem at wing for the foreseeable future in Panarin, Kreider, Laf at LW and Buch, Kakko, and hopefully Kravtsov at RW.

The centers on the other hand... that's a concern. But like, Laf deserves to stay in the top 6. So does Kakko when he's back. I wonder what they do about it all when Bread returns. Which I hope is soon.
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Having 3 lines with stacked wingers isn't a bad thing. I'm not a fan of playing Laf on his off-wing though - at least not until he gets more comfortable out there.

When Chytil and Panarin come back, I would love to see something like this for the top 9

Panarin-Zib-buch
Laf-Strome-Kakko
Kreider-Chytil-Blackwell or Kravstov
 
I think Chytil will be good for Laf. They looked good together in their short time. Obviously playing with Zib is like playing without a Center right now
 
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NYRangers0723 said:
I think Chytil will be good for Laf. They looked good together in their short time. Obviously playing with Zib is like playing without a Center right now
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Laf-Chytil-Kakko should be a thing.

Laf-Chytil-Blackwell wouldn't be bad either.

Also I take my previous comment back, that entire sequence was actually more involved than most of TS's assists have been this year. Apologies to Lafreniere.
 
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I would give him any center not named Zibby right now. As long as Blackwell is his linemate it's cool with me. Give them a shot together DQ maybe they have some chemistry.
Laf-Chytil-Blackwell???
Laf-Strome-Blackwell???
 
Laf Chytil Kakko would be such a fun line, then when hes back from the LOA Panarin should be with Mika to get the latter going
Panarin-Mika-Buch/Blackwell
Lad-Chytil-Kakko
Kreider-Strome-Buch/Blackwell
 
The New Russian Five said:
I don't think just yet, but he's showing some improvement. Still would like to see him be more assertive than he has been.

He seems to suffering from the same lack of strength and conditioning as Kakko did and I imagine it will be an issue until he spends and offseason training in the gym.
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He, Robertson and Miller spent a lot of time with Kreider and Prentiss in the off-season. I think a full off-season (Lafrenière basically had just 6 weeks after being drafted) would definitely help get him to that next level. But I think the system the Rangers are playing just doesn't allow for him to use his strengths.
 
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