Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière

[markymarc1215]

Since Laf is more known as a playmaker who can throw the body, I am actually happier with his play this year than last. If he ends up minimum 15-30-45 and plays with an edge, I think it is a successful year for him.

 

[UnSandvich]

Laf got suspended a couple times in junior iirc. I'm excited to see where he is in a couple years, because if he gets that nastiness & physical edge back (to go with his ongoing skill progression), he's going to be a real problem for other teams

 

[jerseyjinx94]

Some of us wanted a TRUE rebuild... that is not what happened

Laf aside so I won't derail the thread (too much)

- Bread
-Trouba
- Goody

Copp for a 1st (yes cond)

- Trocheck

and now Tank

I mean that is NOT a rebuild

So plz stop with the "this is why..." crap

The OWNER & GM are why NY can never rebuild. NOT the fans

There’s some truth to that as well, you ain’t wrong

 

[haveandare]

Some of us wanted a TRUE rebuild... that is not what happened

Laf aside so I won't derail the thread (too much)

- Bread
-Trouba
- Goody

Copp for a 1st (yes cond)

- Trocheck

and now Tank

I mean that is NOT a rebuild

So plz stop with the "this is why..." crap

The OWNER & GM are why NY can never rebuild. NOT the fans

Agreed that the fans aren’t the thing that makes rebuilding hard. But they absolutely did rebuild. They didn’t take every opportunity to tear it to literally nothing, but they traded a ton of vets and a lot of this roster is kids for a team that is actually competing. There’s more than one way to rebuild.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Some of us wanted a TRUE rebuild... that is not what happened

Laf aside so I won't derail the thread (too much)

- Bread
-Trouba
- Goody

Copp for a 1st (yes cond)

- Trocheck

and now Tank

I mean that is NOT a rebuild

So plz stop with the "this is why..." crap

The OWNER & GM are why NY can never rebuild. NOT the fans

You can build a team 3 ways. Trades, free agency, and drafting. The Rangers have done all 3 and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. They completely tore down the team 5 years ago and right now have a contending team than can win it all. They have a team that had 110 point season last year and went to the ECF a year or 2 ahead of schedule and they are in the middle of a contention window. They have a great mix of vets and young guys acquired in different ways. So what that they didn't draft every player and have some expensive FA's? There is no template for building a contender and the Rangers have done well to completely turn it around in 5 years. The average age of this team is 26.5 which is 6th youngest in the league. Their oldest players are only 31 FFS. Panarin and Kreider aren't ready for the old folks home just yet. They also have a solid group of core pieces who are under 25, plus prospects like Cuylle, Berard, Othmann, Robinson, Jones, Sykora, McConnell-Barker, etc in the pipeline and additional picks in this years draft. This team is going to be good for a long time.

 

[mrmovies779]

We didn't do a complete rebuild,more a retooling by trading vets,clearing space and building through the draft and free agency.Regardless of what you want to call it,we are a competitive contender now and as long as the youngsters keep growing,we should be for years to come

 

[PuckLuck3043]

We didn't do a complete rebuild,more a retooling by trading vets,clearing space and building through the draft and free agency.Regardless of what you want to call it,we are a competitive contender now and as long as the youngsters keep growing,we should be for years to come

I call trading Stepan, Hayes, McDonagh, Zucc, JT Miller, Nash, Grabner more of a rebuild than a retool as they didn't make the playoffs for 4-5 years and acquired multiple picks in the process. A retool is more of making some changes and trying to get younger while remaining competitive. The Rangers went more aggressive than that and were expecting some lean years hence the letter.

 

[mrmovies779]

I call trading Stepan, Hayes, McDonagh, Zucc, JT Miller, Nash, Grabner more of a rebuild than a retool as they didn't make the playoffs for 4-5 years and acquired multiple picks in the process.

I know,I said it wasn't a complete rebuild..more like a retool/rebuild hybrid. A mixture of both.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I know,I said it wasn't a complete rebuild..more like a retool/rebuild hybrid. A mixture of both.

Yup. I'm also glad they took the path they did. I don't want to be Buffalo, Ottawa and some other teams who have been rebuilding for 20 years.

 

[Kane One]

I think they were planning on rebuilding and not retooling, but winning the Lafreniere lottery out of nowhere threw a wrench in things.

 

[mas0764]

I think they were planning on rebuilding and not retooling, but winning the Lafreniere lottery out of nowhere threw a wrench in things.

I think they thought it would throw a wrench in things because they thought he’d be an instant star. Problem is that he wasn’t.

 

[ThirdEye]

He’s on a nice little streak right now - 8 points in his last 8 and averaging around 2 shots per game in that time. He always seems to heat up towards the end of the season

 

[LORDE]

You can build a team 3 ways. Trades, free agency, and drafting. The Rangers have done all 3 and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. They completely tore down the team 5 years ago and right now have a contending team than can win it all. They have a team that had 110 point season last year and went to the ECF a year or 2 ahead of schedule and they are in the middle of a contention window. They have a great mix of vets and young guys acquired in different ways. So what that they didn't draft every player and have some expensive FA's? There is no template for building a contender and the Rangers have done well to completely turn it around in 5 years. The average age of this team is 26.5 which is 6th youngest in the league. Their oldest players are only 31 FFS. Panarin and Kreider aren't ready for the old folks home just yet. They also have a solid group of core pieces who are under 25, plus prospects like Cuylle, Berard, Othmann, Robinson, Jones, Sykora, McConnell-Barker, etc in the pipeline and additional picks in this years draft. This team is going to be good for a long time.

I was pointing out that it wasn't a true rebuild and that's on management not the NY fans

I (& others I'm sure) didn't want to sign Bread... not because he's bad or whatever but in a rebuild signing a guy to the most expensive contract isn't a rebuild move. Not knowing we would get #2 & #1 overall in consecutive drafts wasn't known either so I wanted to hit rock bottom a go through a true rebuild. Not a 20 yr long one. Management accelerated it.

So how we got to this point is largely irrelevant now. We're here & this is what we have so we're going to war built this way & we all hope it works out.

 

[GigaChad]

All these kids look better when they're playing with each other.
Any clue why?

 

[DanielBrassard]

I think they were planning on rebuilding and not retooling, but winning the Lafreniere lottery out of nowhere threw a wrench in things.

It was winning the Kakko lottery that changed the course of the rebuild I would say. Without the expectation of adding a star forward on an entry-level contract immediately I think they probably avoid trading for Trouba and signing Panarin.

 

[Psycho for Perreault]

All these kids look better when they're playing with each other.
Any clue why?

When they are with the vets they defer. Together they feed off each other. Possess the puck, great passing, Chytl willing to shoot. Also they don't only wait for the perfect play.

 

[Chaels Arms]

All these kids look better when they're playing with each other.
Any clue why?

Gallant mentioned a week or two ago they defer to players like Kreider, Zibanejad or Panarin when they're on the ice with them. Unfortunately, his observation is correct.

I would have preferred the solution to that problem be to develop and train them not to defer to those players anymore but I can't disagree with Gallant's assessment.

 

[UnSandvich]

Gallant mentioned a week or two ago they defer to players like Kreider, Zibanejad or Panarin when they're on the ice with them. Unfortunately, his observation is correct.

I would have preferred the solution to that problem be to develop and train them not to defer to those players anymore but I can't disagree with Gallant's assessment.

Like...you have a point there. But it can't just be on the kids to not defer, Gallant needs to hold the vets accountable for it too. Tell Panarin that Laf or Kakko isn't just on the line to dig for pucks. Tell Mika and Kreider to cycle it with them too. It opens all sorts of new plays up when the coach and the vets aren't pigeon-holing the kids into certain roles b/c they can't be bothered to do them themselves.

 

[Chytilmania]

Didn’t Chytil or someone say the three of them always know where each other are when they are on the ice together?

 

[Psycho for Perreault]

Didn’t Chytil or someone say the three of them always know where each other are when they are on the ice together?

They are really complimentary. The one thing I would prefer is sometimes Chtyl looks to pass to the other two when they are open. But if he keeps scoring like he has, hard to complain too much.

 

[Chaels Arms]

Like...you have a point there. But it can't just be on the kids to not defer, Gallant needs to hold the vets accountable for it too. Tell Panarin that Laf or Kakko isn't just on the line to dig for pucks. Tell Mika and Kreider to cycle it with them too. It opens all sorts of new plays up when the coach and the vets aren't pigeon-holing the kids into certain roles b/c they can't be bothered to do them themselves.

Absolutely. The Kid Line resurgence has been fun the past few weeks but I still believe the team is better off integrating those three forwards with our veteran forwards. I am hopeful some of that integration might happen with the new PP units and Gallant actually being serious about rolling two units instead of one.

They are really complimentary. The one thing I would prefer is sometimes Chtyl looks to pass to the other two when they are open. But if he keeps scoring like he has, hard to complain too much.

He won't. And when he stops scoring like this it won't be because he suddenly became a crappy player. I'm already preparing myself for that narrative to spring up in the next few weeks.

Didn’t Chytil or someone say the three of them always know where each other are when they are on the ice together?

You would hope for that to be the case at this point considering how they've been deployed.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Absolutely. The Kid Line resurgence has been fun the past few weeks but I still believe the team is better off integrating those three forwards with our veteran forwards. I am hopeful some of that integration might happen with the new PP units and Gallant actually being serious about rolling two units instead of one.

And make the team weaker? I would not get on board with this.

Our LW-C combos on the top 2 lines shouldn't be touched. Figuring out who to play Tarasenko with and deciding whether or not you want to roll with Vesey on the other line (and he's had a phenomenal impact on BOTH duos) are really the the next decisions to make (along with getting Leshitshow out of the lineup.)

There is no reason to break up the "kid" line. They're the only line that understands the value of keeping a cycle going and waiting for openings to happen instead of heaving low percentage passes (the Panarin) into the slot area or low percentage shots that have next to no chance of going in (the Kravtsov) but they've also started to generate a shit load of rush and odd man opportunities. The LAST thing you want to do is break up a line that can both create off of the cycle and off of the rush.

Of course Chytil is going to cool off, it's already started as he's gone 2 games with out a goal and he had several excellent scoring chances in each of them. The entire team is going to cool off, they won't average 238203293 goals a game like they have recently. But unless the quality of their play cools off and stays cooled off, theres no reason to touch anything.

 

[Peltz]

All these kids look better when they're playing with each other.
Any clue why?

You can't force chemistry. Some guys just play better with some other guys.

I also think playing on the left wing is more comfortable for him. And each of his line mates are good at hanging onto the puck in the offensive zone.

Honestly, I think any player would play better with Chytil and Kakko on their line. We just haven't seen Chytil move around much in the lineup. Kakko looked good with Kreider and Zib earlier on.

But yea, he's playing with the right guys in the correct position.

 

[DelZottoHitTheNetJK]

The kids playing like ass for 65% of the regular season but becoming a force in the playoffs is actually the best thing that we could hope to happen to this franchise and it's playing out before our very eyes. Why?

Because then we don't have to pay them all... (at least for a little while longer).

Opens up a much bigger window of contention for us versus Lafreniere and Kakko putting up 60 even strength points each. As crazy as it sounds, we don't need that level of production from them. It would actually be detrimental long term because salary cap.

This has been the plan all along and Drury/Gallant have executed to a T. Every time one of you guys scream about them getting 30 seconds of PP time, I can promise you that shit is by design.

Panarin, Kreider, Mika and Fox are all already getting paid. They have to be the ones that produce the most or we wind up selling these guys for draft picks we don't need to clear cap space

 

[PuckLuck3043]

I was pointing out that it wasn't a true rebuild and that's on management not the NY fans

I (& others I'm sure) didn't want to sign Bread... not because he's bad or whatever but in a rebuild signing a guy to the most expensive contract isn't a rebuild move. Not knowing we would get #2 & #1 overall in consecutive drafts wasn't known either so I wanted to hit rock bottom a go through a true rebuild. Not a 20 yr long one. Management accelerated it.

So how we got to this point is largely irrelevant now. We're here & this is what we have so we're going to war built this way & we all hope it works out.

Maybe, but what exactly is a true rebuild in your eyes? Was the Devils sucking for nearly a decade a true rebuild even though they signed Hamilton and Palat to expensive FA contracts. When was the last time a team actually built a stanley cup winner just through the draft?