Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière: Part III

[Scott r]

Look, he's a bust..move on. Your boys John Davidson and Jeff Gorton who were both so much from winning organizations made it known he's was a great..a,can't miss. His stats are not good ..worse is kakko blows as well. They are much better this year and the new coa h is prob a great thing

 

[ORRFForever]

I checked the scores and saw the Rangers have put up a 6 spot. I think, "Cool. Laf must have at least ONE point."

I was wrong.

Come on kid, do something.

 

[hockeyplayer999]

Laf is on the scoresheet, but only cause of another dumb penalty. What exactly does Laf the first overall pick do so well. It isn’t skating , not his defense play, not his passing, not his shooting ,not his stick handling or forechecking. Right now Laf looks like an AHL player.

 

[Rangers in 7]

Look, he's a bust..move on. Your boys John Davidson and Jeff Gorton who were both so much from winning organizations made it known he's was a great..a,can't miss. His stats are not good ..worse is kakko blows as well. They are much better this year and the new coa h is prob a great thing

Shut the

Laf is on the scoresheet, but only cause of another dumb penalty. What exactly does Laf the first overall pick do so well. It isn’t skating , not his defense play, not his in passing, not his shooting ,not his stick handling or forechecking. Right now a Laf looks like an AHL player.

f*** up

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Very nice game tonight. He looked engaged, he looked like he wanted the puck. He looked like he wanted to make plays. I'm ok with him getting pissed off and taking a late penalty. That's what a guy does when he's emotionally invested in the game. Baby steps, but any step in the right direction is very much welcomed.

 

[Thirty One]

This kid is a star. I’m convinced.

 

[Scott r]

He look engaged vs a minor hockey league team. His statistics rot ...awful....

 

[Scott r]

Laf is on the scoresheet, but only cause of another dumb penalty. What exactly does Laf the first overall pick do so well. It isn’t skating , not his defense play, not his passing, not his shooting ,not his stick handling or forechecking. Right now Laf looks like an AHL player.

150 percent true. Can't talk logic to fans that follow,a team that has one cup since 1940..wow. this year florida,Carolina, Tampa , Toronto are much better. Odds to win cup indicate that...

 

[Whoot Whoot]

 

[Morten]

he's been disappointing for sure but I still believe he will figure it out, I love his seemingly positive attitude, always smiling whereas Kakko looks miserable at times

 

[ajdj10]

Laf is on the scoresheet, but only cause of another dumb penalty. What exactly does Laf the first overall pick do so well. It isn’t skating , not his defense play, not his passing, not his shooting ,not his stick handling or forechecking. Right now Laf looks like an AHL player.

He never misses open nets.

 

[romba]

Made a slick move with the puck with speed breaking into the zone right before his penalty, best move I've seen him make or try since we drafted him. Gaut missed him wide open in front and Strome also did also missed him open cutting to the net on a 3 on 2. He made some good reads and was very engaged yesterday, his linemates need to find him when he's open.

 

[Vitto79]

So next game Panarin to RW ?

Laf, Strome , Kakko (if healthy )

 

[Edge]

I’m curious what @Edge or any other insiders are thinking and hearing about Laf and Kakko at this point. We’ve been having this conversation about these kids since day one. They have not looked good except for very rare instances, but we’ve been told that it’s “early” and that the organization itself has no concern whatsoever.

It’s been about a year since I’ve heard from @Edge on this. Is opinion shifting in the room where it matters? Is the new regime similarly unconcerned about another year of underwhelming play and chalking it up to kids needing to grow?

Not much has changed since the last update in December.

 

[NYR Viper]

For what it's worth, the majority of opinions I've encountered or heard of second-hand around the league don't express much concern or confusion. The general feeling being that usage and the way the Rangers are constructed (which is very unique) significantly impacts some of the plateaus that some fans are expecting to see.

To paraphrase what one scout told me, "if these guys are playing 18 minutes on the first line and getting 3 or 4 minutes on the powerplay every game, no one is focused on the flaws and works in progress. But when you don't have that, suddenly it's a lot easier to focus on what you don't have rather than what you do."

Here is one of the posts Edge posted in December

 

[NYR Viper]

There are things he needs to work on for sure. But I also kind of feel like his situation isn't all that different than Kakko's right now.

The team, and even the lines, aren't really built around them. As a result, their "success" or at least what people view as success (points) really hinges on the situations they find themselves in and their usage.

When Kakko is inserted onto the powerplay, voila he gets points. Shocking, I know.

But right now, I see a biproduct of usage and team makeup more than I see warning signs or overwhelming concerns.

If anything, I'm honestly less concerned about the play of Kakko and Laf so much as how we navigate the transition to them.

Also, for all the gnashing of teeth, Lafreniere has 18 goals in his first 85 career NHL games.

And that's without a single powerplay goal or even a point.

As a point of reference, because someone brought him up earlier, Taylor Hall had 49 goals in his first 126 NHL games. However, 21 of those goals were scored on the powerplay. So he scored 28 ES goals in his first 126 NHL games.

So if we want to take usage into account, Lafreniere scored an ES goal roughly every 4.7 games and Hall scored an ES goal every 4.5 games. And BTW, Lafreniere is also playing more than 4.5 minutes less per game. So if we go with ES/60, Lafreniere more than holds his own against Hall.

And that doesn't take into account usage, linemates, or whether the Rangers current roster and powerplay unit would result in greater production if Lafreniere was taking shifts, or other factors.

Look, I learned a long time ago it is very difficult to talk someone down off the ledge once they're dealing with anxiety or worry. But the numbers and comparisons we're throwing out there really aren't as far off as we think. (Just like Uncle Larry pointed out the difference in numbers between Hughes and Kakko is much closer than people realize).

Just giving folks something to chew on other than their nails.

I'm not sure his skating his holding him back as much as it's note elite enough for him to coast --- which is something he is prone to do.

I think there's definitely room for him to get significantly better though, not unlike Kakko. So the combination of improvements and keeping his feet moving should have him in a much better place.

I personally think that like Kakko, a big difference is going to come when Laf instinctively just keeps his feet moving.

And more...

 

[ReddestRum]

Isn't it crazy that Fox and Laf, for at least this year, get paid the same? Lol.

 

[will1066]

Isn't it crazy that Fox and Laf, for at least this year, get paid the same? Lol.

Don't think that way. It's not healthy.

 

[ReddestRum]

Don't think that way. It's not healthy.

What's not healthy for me acknowledging that Fox scored 42 points in his rookie season as a f***ing D-man, which is still 10 more points than Laf in two seasons. I defended Laf on the main boards but I'm starting to doubt a little.

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

fox is an elite player. us ranger fans should thanks the heavens above that we have him.

it is too early to deem laffy as a bust. if he should manage to finish the end of next season with at least 50 pts then he'll be on the right path. so let's see what he can do when he's 21 years old.

kakko - i'm sick of him. can't skate. whiffs on shots. decent against the boards work. if he proves me wrong next season then hey i'm happy to be wrong.

 

[ReddestRum]

fox is an elite player. us ranger fans should thanks the heavens above that we have him.

it is too early to deem laffy as a bust. if he should manage to finish the end of next season with at least 50 pts then he'll be on the right path. so let's see what he can do when he's 21 years old.

kakko - i'm sick of him. can't skate. whiffs on shots. decent against the boards work. if he proves me wrong next season then hey i'm happy to be wrong.

50 points next season? Woo. That's a tall order, sir.

 

[PANARIN BREAD FAN]

50 points next season? Woo. That's a tall order, sir.

i was looking at left wingers ages 18-21, active or retired. a lot of them would score 50+ at age 21 and then progress on to better seasons.

i mean i get whatcha saying - based on level of play up until now laffy is projecting to be the next yakupov or brian lawton. 50+ next season would be equivalent to fox posting the same numbers as mcdavid last season.

 

[Scott r]

Embarrassing these 2 kids blow and the so calledxl davidsongorton magic failed. Thumbs up to head coach..but the newness will go away

 

[rangersfansince08]

I really think they would do better on a line together with a center like Hertl. They would have go get involved and Hertl seems like the type of player to help them.

 

[EdJovanovski]

i was looking at left wingers ages 18-21, active or retired. a lot of them would score 50+ at age 21 and then progress on to better seasons.

i mean i get whatcha saying - based on level of play up until now laffy is projecting to be the next yakupov or brian lawton. 50+ next season would be equivalent to fox posting the same numbers as mcdavid last season.

Yakupov's rookie season pace was exactly the same as D+3 Kakko & D+2 Lafreniere's pace COMBINED.