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Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière

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Bacon Artemi Bravo said:
It's clear some of us will be eating crow by the spoonful in a few years once the dust settles.

I fully back Laffy and am still in his camp. Always have been. I think he's going to be a very good player. I think a lot of people in here are way too hyper focused game to game and need to realize that for some players, it takes time to adapt. Laffy has tons of skill, he's still figuring out how that all fits in the NHL game. Lastly, his personality is what is going to help him overcome all of this negativity. He's a humble, hard working kid. Much different than busts of the past.

I'm willing to admit if I do end up being wrong, hopefully the rest of you will be willing to do the same,
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I like Laffy and his innate talent is obvious when it comes to hand eye coordination and twitch reflexes. I think for the first time in his life he has to understand that he cannot just float on his talent and 'having fun'. He needs to understand he has to work his nuts off to improve - it's not all bells and whistles and party tunes and lollipops. If there is one thing I have never doubted about eg Chytil or Kakko is that they are driven individuals that that hate losing and will push themselves to be the best they can be.

Laf is at the point where I think other 1OA have found themselves, like MacKinnon and Stamkos, where they realize it's not about just showing up but it will take everything they've got to live up to their talent. It really is up to him but I can't say if he will become a ghost showing up to work or if he will have the maturity and drive to take the next few steps to stardom.
 
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jerseyjinx94 said:
I’m going to reiterate a point I made a week or so ago. It is much easier to be cynical, negative, and conservative and be correct than it is to be positive and bold and correct.

Most players do not pan out. Taking a player who was drafted with high expectations during a global pandemic that shut down the sport and who has struggled to develop behind a veteran star cast and proclaiming him a bust before his entry level contract is a safe position. If said player does not bust, your comments can be buried beneath the good will and joy of his success, and if he does bust, you can point to your amazing foresight in proclaiming it.

But the truth is that we have no idea what’s going to become of Laffy. He is a work in progress and although the gains have been disappointing, he is far from a finished product. A lot will depend on him and the work he puts in, and some will depend on the organization as well. Give the kid some time and stop focusing so much on him. Enjoy the development of Key, Chytil, Schneider and Kakko this year, who have all taken a pretty big leap forward.
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I agree with you on all of these points. But you can't stop a forum from discussing the status of a 1st overall and speculating wildly over how he’s going to be going forward.
jerseyjinx94 said:
Even if it is not "generally true about 1OAs," taking a player who is playing a specific way, and arguing that the player will continue to play that way (i.e., Lafreniere is struggling, he will continue to struggle) is always going to be a safer bet than the alternative. You can always fall back on the current play of the player as a reason for the concerns you had "at the time." Take Daniel Jones. Coming into this season, every single Giants fan I knew wanted to move on from Jones. I kept saying to give Jones some time, he has a new coach, etc. He has skills. "What skills??? All he does is fumble! He has no pocket presence!" Well, look what happened. He matured and developed. I didn't predict that - I just told them to calm down and be a little patient. New York fans are NEVER patient, and it's why we are constantly mired in mediocrity, while smaller market teams have the time and ability to properly develop young players without media and fan pressures.

Here's the thing about this debate, and most of the activity on this board has been in this thread lately or I would just stop reading it, but it's getting tiresome. I am going to be patient with the kid. You don't have to be. I have reservations that he will ever reach his potential, but I'm not going to give up on him, because there are other factors in play here and from the context of the situation, as a whole, I can see reasons for the issues. They have been reiterated over and over in this thread and treated as excuses, even if the reasons are legitimate. Calling something an "excuse" is just a cop out because you don't want to hear the reasons. The line between a reason for something and an excuse is finer than the line between confidence and arrogance. Proclaiming Lafreniere a bust at this juncture of his career is premature. Period. He hasn't even finished his ELC yet.

Here's to hoping he can turn his career around and satisfy all of you to your liking.
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i think most fans are patient though. You can be patient while still criticizing the quality of play. Most people do NOT want to trade Laf
 
Rybo said:
Right so youre just a casual fan who parrots what he reads online

Mention the 10m QO without any context of how high-end QO's quite literally never get signed. Not a single high profile player ever.

And sure thing bud, nobody is trading anything for a guy top-10 in goals at age 25. Who needs those talents when you got worse players in Schneider and Chytil huh?
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So if we didn’t qualify him he’s what? A UFA. The bottom line is there is ZERO control unless you are willing to offer him 10 million per.
I think we all agree he’d be great on this team but if you are trading for him unextened for all intents and purposes you are trading for a UFA. A rental.
You can be as snarky and obtuse as you want about it, but that is the bottom line.
 
bhamill said:
So if we didn’t qualify him he’s what? A UFA. The bottom line is there is ZERO control unless you are willing to offer him 10 million per.
I think we all agree he’d be great on this team but if you are trading for him unextened for all intents and purposes you are trading for a UFA. A rental.
You can be as snarky and obtuse as you want about it, but that is the bottom line.
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The "extended" and "not extended" prices for him are absolutely going to be very different. Would have to imagine SJ is on board with him/his agent talking to an acquiring team to hammer out an extension before a deal is made, it's best case scenario for everyone involved.
 
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Speaking of Timo Meier, I would move Laf - and convince Bread that he’s going to LOVE it in California - and give Timo a 8x9 extension in a heart beat. Fast, physically dominant, shoot first, in his prime and a few million cheaper than Bread? Waive it Arty, waive it. We can probably get a good LHD for the bottom pair too.
 
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jerseyjinx94 said:
What's interesting about this scouting analysis (not sure who the scout is) is what the scout notes about his game.

"He's great at carrying the puck and leading rushes and executes under pressure, has great vision and anticipation. Lafreniere offers high-end puck skills and vision to create plays . . ." This part of his game has been completely neutered, either by his own lack of confidence or by the organization system.
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This scouting report is why I feel so strongly that it’s in his head. The kind of play reading he was able to do outside the NHL shouldn’t just disappear because competition is a step faster and he’s slower by comparison.

He’s choking. The ability is there, he’s not processing quick enough.

Loki Dog 74 said:
Speaking of Timo Meier, I would move Laf - and convince Bread that he’s going to LOVE it in California - and give Timo a 8x9 extension in a heart beat. Fast, physically dominant, shoot first, in his prime and a few million cheaper than Bread? Waive it Arty, waive it.
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Trouba should be moved first. And is this post advocating moving Lafreniere AND Panarin for Meier? Ugh.
 
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PANARIN BREAD FAN said:
is timo really worth 10 mill? he's good don't get me wrong but really 10 mill or plus more? i can see 8 mill max.
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I said 9-10, I could see 8.5. He’ll get paid. My point was that we’d be getting a younger, more impactful player who produces only slightly less and would be making 2-3M+ less.
 
mas0764 said:
This scouting report is why I feel so strongly that it’s in his head. The kind of play reading he was able to do outside the NHL shouldn’t just disappear because competition is a step faster and he’s slower by comparison.

He’s choking. The ability is there, he’s not processing quick enough.


Trouba should be moved first. And is this post advocating moving Lafreniere AND Panarin for Meier? Ugh.
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I thoroughly agree on Trouba. And Meier is an absolute pipe dream - you don’t really think I realistically expect Panarin to waive for SJ. It was mostly tongue in cheek, but I figured swapping an 11.65M 31 year old who is fairly one dimensional for a more imposing 26 year old making 6M who can likely be extended for 8-9M would cost a sweetener. Let’s say you got Meier extended at 8.65M - you just got 5 years younger, freed up nearly 4M cap space and probably became an overall better team. It was all hypothetical though.
 
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Bacon Artemi Bravo said:
Interesting comment from The Hockey Guy nearly 2 years before Laffy was even drafted:

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What’s interesting about this? That MacKinnon and Vinny L. took time to become stars in the NHL? I know the interesting part can’t be that he had just dominated a U18 tournament as a 16yo, because, you know, we need to be patient.

Lecavalier had 67 points in 80 games as a second year player during the dead puck era by the way.
 
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