Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part II

[Crease]

The organization can’t seem to decide whether they want to rebuild, win now, or sell tickets.

 

[haohmaru]

And if he needs to be playing fewer minutes because playing more costs us wins, then we should stop winning and play him. Winning now is less important than developing Lafreniere and Kakko.

Bullshit.

They both need to play better to earn more ice time and teaching them otherwise is crap for them and, even more so, for their teammates. That's part of developing into a pro. Lafreniere is Mr. Invisible right now.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Bullshit.

They both need to play better to earn more ice time and teaching them otherwise is crap for them and, even more so, for their teammates. That's part of developing into a pro. Lafreniere is Mr. Invisible right now.

I think the question might be what's considered "playing better". We as fans want to see more offensive flash, and are mostly fine with the necessary turnovers that come with that.
Gallant is trying to win, and teach his guys to play a playoff style game.
He may not be ok with that.

 

[haohmaru]

I think the question might be what's considered "playing better". We as fans want to see more offensive flash, and are mostly fine with the necessary turnovers that come with that.
Gallant is trying to win, and teach his guys to play a playoff style game.
He may not be ok with that.

Lafreniere might not be okay with that? Then he's immature. If you want to be a part of a team that's winning then the team comes first and "offensive flash" comes second. Ovechkin had to learn that before finally winning a Cup and I doubt he regrets it. The Rangers, somehow, are 8-3-3 while playing a large majority of their games on the road and you're going to send the message to the rest of the team that it's okay to lose but we need to play these two guys while simultaneously trying to sell a message of leadership, having your teammate's back, and toughness? The two can't co-exist.

 

[IDvsEGO]

Lafreniere might not be okay with that? Then he's immature. If you want to be a part of a team that's winning then the team comes first and "offensive flash" comes second. Ovechkin had to learn that before finally winning a Cup and I doubt he regrets it. The Rangers, somehow, are 8-3-3 while playing a large majority of their games on the road and you're going to send the message to the rest of the team that it's okay to lose but we need to play these two guys while simultaneously trying to sell a message of leadership, having your teammate's back, and toughness? The two can't co-exist.

I meant gallant might not be ok with that. Ovechkin spent years absolutely definining his game by the offensive flash. He ADDED the defensive areas to his game, but kept the offensive stuff.
Laf needs to add the offensive flash to his game while also adding the defensive.
We're all bitching because we want to see the offense come first. Most first overalls get a chance to make mistakes with essentially no pressure.
Laf got pp time early, but he was also 4/5th options, the offense didn't flow through him specifically like it does alot of 1oa's.

 

[Savant]

And this is why you send him to Hartford

 

[haohmaru]

I meant gallant might not be ok with that. Ovechkin spent years absolutely definining his game by the offensive flash. He ADDED the defensive areas to his game, but kept the offensive stuff.
Laf needs to add the offensive flash to his game while also adding the defensive.
We're all bitching because we want to see the offense come first. Most first overalls get a chance to make mistakes with essentially no pressure.
Laf got pp time early, but he was also 4/5th options, the offense didn't flow through him specifically like it does alot of 1oa's.

Oh, okay, I understand.

I'm not sure what to make of him, at this point, to be honest. Maybe he needs to go to Hartford to get his confidence up. He's largely been invisible with the big club this year and maybe Barron deserves a look that's longer than a cup of coffee.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

Listen, if the team keeps going the way they are and picking up points every 8 out of 10 games then you let Alexis ride on the 3rd line and be a secondary/tertiary piece of a playoff team. The playoff experience he'll get will arguably be as valuable as a few extra minutes a game in October and November. Plus, if you look at it from a purely cap perspective, let our guys who are already locked in to big money contracts put up the points. This serves the team in the long term because when Kakko and Laf are RFAs it'll be pennies on the dollar and at that point they should be producing more/have a more prominent role to the point that their contracts will be steals for us.

I have a high level of confidence that this was one of the big factors that got Quinn axed. If you play a wide open style where literally half the team has 60 points, dudes are gonna have to get paid; this is why we couldn't keep DeAngelo or Buch (yes, I know DeAngelo got bought out for reasons but we weren't gonna be able to afford him and Fox anyway).

 

[McDuffz88]

Devils fan here coming in peace. From an outside view, my take on Lafreniere is I think he needs to be sent back down. I think the rangers rushed him into the lineup expecting a 60 point player off the bat. When that didn't happen the kids confidence started to slide away. I think confidence in one's game is the biggest recipe for success. I think Lafreniere will be fine but only if management recognize he needs to build back his confidence so his game can shine once again.

 

[bleedblue94]

Where is the wowing skill? We don't even see flashes of it. I can deal w a kid developing and learning the 2 way game but kids w skill should be flashing it once a game even accidentally. It seems like that feel for showing skill is being coached right out of him

 

[mrhockey193195]

Before sending him down, I'd like to see him get force fed minutes. Put him on RW next to Kreider-Zib or Panarin-Strome for a few games.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Before sending him down, I'd like to see him get force fed minutes. Put him on RW next to Kreider-Zib or Panarin-Strome for a few games.

We’ve tried that

 

[bleedblue94]

We’ve tried that

I think it would be interesting to see it tried w the step brothers instead of zib and kreider. I'm still waiting for kakko to get a look w zib and kreider. Just think he fits better there.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

Let's ignore the whole "He's not getting PP minutes" stuff for a second and look at this:

2020 and 2021 draft at even strength this season:

Lucas Raymond: 11 points
Dawson Mercer: 9 points
Anton Lundell: 6 points
Cole Sillinger: 6 points
Jamie Drysdale: 5 points
Alexis Lafrenière: 4 points

This is just frustrating to watch.

 

[will1066]

Laf is a lemon. Is there an NHL lemon law?

 

[Entrancemperium]

So.... how do we get that Connor Bedard kid?

 

[mrhockey193195]

We’ve tried that

No, they tried kreider on the right and laf on the left.

 

[IDvsEGO]

No, they tried kreider on the right and laf on the left.

It’s the same concept. Laf is a left wing, and was given the position on the left since kreider could adapt easier than he could.

 

[jay from jersey]

Right now he’s a spot shooter. His skating isn’t good enough to get him any separation in order for him to create some room for himself.
There’s not explosion, no change of pace, he gets the puck and if he has a bunch of time, he’ll shoot. If not he’ll quickly move the puck.
He has no confidence in his legs and it shows. Kakko is a way better skater then him right now

 

[will1066]

The organization can’t seem to decide whether they want to rebuild, win now, or sell tickets.

That's the thing. This organization always wants at least one imported marquee player in the lineup at all times even when it's clearly not contending. But why? Because it's NYC, likely, and it supposedly sells tickets. Still, this sport is niche and will never get the back page consistently against the other sports in the area. The Rangers will always be an afterthought compared with baseball, football and basketball. So why try to pretend? They could've passed on Panarin and went full rebuild, but the urge to get one of the league's best players was too strong, especially when he declared that he wanted to play here. But do the corporate accounts and other non-diehard season ticket holders care at all? The way I see it, the Rangers will always draw the diehards and the corporate luxury boxes year after year but that pie will never increase. It wasn't like ticket sales would've tanked with a full rebuild. They could've given the reigns to the young core and marketed the team that way, and they still would've came to the games.

 

[Synergy27]

Let's ignore the whole "He's not getting PP minutes" stuff for a second and look at this:

2020 and 2021 draft at even strength this season:

Lucas Raymond: 11 points
Dawson Mercer: 9 points
Anton Lundell: 6 points
Cole Sillinger: 6 points
Jamie Drysdale: 5 points
Alexis Lafrenière: 4 points

This is just frustrating to watch.

And outside of Lundell, those guys are producing as primary options on teams that are worse than the Rangers. It should be easier for Laf to score as a secondary, he’ll tertiary, option on the Rangers right? There’s also the fact that Laf should be on another level entirely when it comes to skill and scoring ability.

 

[ElLeetch]

So.... how do we get that Connor Bedard kid?

we'd ruin him, too.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Put Kakko and Laf together, put Rooney between them let him set the pace

 

[CLW]

Let's ignore the whole "He's not getting PP minutes" stuff for a second and look at this:

2020 and 2021 draft at even strength this season:

Lucas Raymond: 11 points
Dawson Mercer: 9 points
Anton Lundell: 6 points
Cole Sillinger: 6 points
Jamie Drysdale: 5 points
Alexis Lafrenière: 4 points

This is just frustrating to watch.

How many points did Laf have playing with Zib and Buch last season? Laf was flying in the game against Boston for example.

Kakko last night was directly involved in both of Panarin's goals, setting them up starting from the defensive zone and with the 3-2 goal winning the d-zone draw then adding pressure at the other end by the Blue Jackets goalie. If Kakko was a C between Panarin and Strome he'd be golden, but he isn't.

Gallant was very pleased with the last two periods of the game last night, saying the ability of the Rangers to keep cycling the puck in the o-zone is exactly how he wants the team to play. He demoted Laf earlier because "he wanted to see more", which I take to mean more engagement in all three zones.

I see it as Gallant wants to play "total" hockey (Ajax/Cruyff reference). None of Raymond, Mercer, Lundell, Sillinger or Drysdale are in wonky situations on their team, their roles are clear. After the Blue Jackets game Gallant said he was pleased with the team because all players performed to their roles.

The problem for Laf atm is that his "projection" doesn't match his current role, but when he played at his projected position he did not match up well with Zib and Kreider, neither of whom are playmakers/playdrivers first, both are finishers. With Laf there it's 3 finishers on the same line and it didn't work.

 

[Unusual Suspect]

It's not his damn linemates or what wing he's on or whether he could be a better center. He is not playing very hard. He is not skating. He is not in possession of the puck, not only because he is not passed to but because he doesn't go get the puck. He is not taking the body much. He does not seem to be thinking the game or anticipating well. He is usually wherever the action is not. He seems to have forgotten all the things that made him the top amateur in the world. I don't pretend to understand how you could lose so much so fast but he needs to wake the hell up. Maybe instead of Hartford he needs a benching during which he can be locked in the video room with bread and water and an endless video loop of everything he knew how to do before he became a Ranger.