Player Discussion Alexis Lafrenière

[NickyFotiu]

I'm a Laf fan. I have seen improvement but not nearly as much as I have hoped so far. With that said, some of you guys make up such ridiculous things. Laf has been purposefully held back? By who? Who made this masterful plan to purposefully hold Laf back? Was it Quinn? Drury? GG? Guys we do not want Laf to score. That would make us look bad by helping us win so lets purposefully hold him back. Who is with me? Meanwhile our top 3 lines play around the same even strength minutes. In fact I like Laf and KK probably play as many even strength minutes as their first line winger Kreider plays.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I'm arguing that he (and Kakko) still could BECOME superstars, or stars,or just very good players and that we should see what they turn into. Maybe even, gasp, give them the the benefit of the doubt since they didn't get traditional top pick treatment and usage, so they might take longer.
But even stopping short of that I'm pointing out how draft position expectations have people suggesting really bad trades involving the players.
Kakko is really coming around this year... was anyone saying that last year or the year before? These players are NOT a finished product at 21/22 that's nuts.

I think both could become 30-30 all star caliper guys. Laf may be even more but superstar? I just do not see superstar skills from either guy so far. If they had the skating, shooting, stickhandling or vision I think we could see it but we haven't. Doesn't mean they are finished products. I think they both will become real assets but not superstars.

 

[Nyr88nyg]

Trade him for a 5th while you can

 

[Row I Goon]

I was a detractor, then pro Laf during last year’s playoffs but the last few games……yeeesh, it’s hard to defend the kid.

 

[rangersfansince08]

he doesn't even seem to care that he sucks

 

[The Gloaming]

Every night when he sleeps, Jack Hughes sheds dead skin cells that have more hockey talent than Laf has.

Thought he was reinventing his game in the playoffs last year, becoming more of a grinding pest because he realised that skill isn't his thing. But now he's back to doing nothing. Great stuff.

He actually should reinvent his game to become a grinding pest. Sort of like a reverse Marchand situation. Because he really has no skill whatsoever. Even Yakupov had more skill, the guy just didn't care about playing hockey.

 

[JHS]

he doesn't even seem to care that he sucks

Yeah sadly this was the exact point I was planing on making in this thread. He’s been totally useless- TOTALY useless for most of his NHL career and now is actually getting embarrassed by Hughes. And yet that same stupid “oh well, confused, s**t eating grin on his face” every time. The by far biggest issues with this guy is his poor speed but a not far behind is his complete unlikability. He’s done nothing as a Ranger to get the fans on his side- NOTHING.

 

[IronBloodedLion]

He’s the least impressive of the young forwards IMO. I don’t know what he brings to the table at this point.

 

[Priorae]

Really struggling this morning to come up with anything he does well.

Such a shame.

 

[savebyrichter94]

Really struggling this morning to come up with anything he does well.

Such a shame.

He better learn how to drain and dispose of oil from fryers cause his future is cooking poutine north of the border

 

[rangersfansince08]

Yeah sadly this was the exact point I was planing on making in this thread. He’s been totally useless- TOTALY useless for most of his NHL career and now is actually getting embarrassed by Hughes. And yet that same stupid “oh well, confused, s**t eating grin on his face” every time. The by far biggest issues with this guy is his poor speed but a not far behind is his complete unlikability. He’s done nothing as a Ranger to get the games on his side- NOTHING.

and there are people that still want to stick him on the 1st line and PP1 because it'll magically make him a good player

 

[Priorae]

He does get back to the bench quickly on line changes. I’ll give him that, he loves getting back there.

 

[JHS]

and there are people that still want to stick him on the 1st line and PP1 because it'll magically make him a good player

yeah I gave up arguing that insane point months ago on this thread. Those people just reveal how clueless they are.

 

[rangersfansince08]

yeah I gave up arguing that insane point months ago on this thread. Those people just reveal how clueless they are.

Yeah its one thing to have argued that in past seasons but at this point you can't do that. He can't even dominate third line matchups. He's the third best player on that line.

I'm sick of Kakko too. He's better than Laf and does some things well. But its his 4th season. I don't care that he's strong on the puck if it doesn't translate to production. We kept on saying during his second season the points would come. Well where are they?

 

[Anthony5967]

What a shame. Rangers can't help themselves man, they really can't. Avs, Devils, Lightning, you have to build it within. Develop your picks, even if it means taking your lumps. Rangers take the shortcut again. These guys don't just become a shell of their talent levels. It's sad most fans can't see what the issue is when it's right there. Just look at the ****** teams around the league. Ottawa sucks, Anaheim sucks, Devils sucked, etc, etc, etc, but they have prioritized playing their kids top-6 mins from the get go and by putting them in positions to succeed such as letting their skillsets play on the PP. Four years later, all third line players, all PP2 guys, all a shell of what they were hyped to be when they were drafted. Yet, you have fans sitting here asking what they do well and trashing 21 year olds. The organization is worth how much money? Until this owner starts bringing in the right management, they will never win or do a damn thing successfully.

 

[Greschner4]

Laf's a fourth liner. Even in last year's playoffs, where he did show flashes, he wound up being a less than .5 PPG guy.

He's just a complete bust as a 1OA, one of the least-skilled 1OA's in any sport I can ever remember. He hasn't flashed 1OA-type skillls for a single second as a Ranger. Yakupov and Daigle were way more skilled, they were just soft head cases.

 

[rangersfansince08]

What a shame. Rangers can't help themselves man, they really can't. Avs, Devils, Lightning, you have to build it within. Develop your picks, even if it means taking your lumps. Rangers take the shortcut again. These guys don't just become a shell of their talent levels. It's sad most fans can't see what the issue is when it's right there. Just look at the ****** teams around the league. Ottawa sucks, Anaheim sucks, Devils sucked, etc, etc, etc, but they have prioritized playing their kids top-6 mins from the get go and by putting them in positions to succeed such as letting their skillsets play on the PP. Four years later, all third line players, all PP2 guys, all a shell of what they were hyped to be when they were drafted. Yet, you have fans sitting here asking what they do well and trashing 21 year olds. The organization is worth how much money? Until this owner starts bringing in the right management, they will never win or do a damn thing successfully.

putting them on PP1 or in the top six won't do anything. they are just not good players. They can't skate, their shots are nothing special and they don't have the mentality to be elite players. They should be feasting on third line matchups yet they can't even do that

Avs, Devils, Lightning also drafted guys who could skate and had the mentality to be good players. Kakko is a beta and Laf is just happy to be one of the guys and joke around on the bench.

We also drafted 2 more busts in Lias and Kravstov. Stop drafting guys with low ceilings, inability to skate and issues in between the ears

 

[Zats Muccarello]

Maybe a new coach can get something going here next year. Otherwise Laf is in the biggest bust of all time conversation.

 

[ReddestRum]

yeah I gave up arguing that insane point months ago on this thread. Those people just reveal how clueless they are.

This is the one thing I will never back down on. Fans here think that force feeding players on the top lines and top special teams will magically make a player a superstar. So what you're saying is that any joe-shmoe can be put on a top line and it will make them better??

I mean, we eventually did put Laf on the top lines and top PP unit and he did absolutely f*** all with the opportunity. You have to have the aptitude and skill to play there, or you're a pylon at best.

 

[Fitzy]

Maybe a new coach can get something going here next year. Otherwise Laf is in the biggest bust of all time conversation.

I mean I think relative to expectations, Daigle still takes the cake, but he's not far from Stefan/Yakupov territory.

 

[Anthony5967]

putting them on PP1 or in the top six won't do anything. they are just not good players. They can't skate, their shots are nothing special and they don't have the mentality to be elite players. They should be feasting on third line matchups yet they can't even do that

Avs, Devils, Lightning also drafted guys who could skate and had the mentality to be good players. Kakko is a beta and Laf is just happy to be one of the guys and joke around on the bench.

We also drafted 2 more busts in Lias and Kravstov. Stop drafting guys with low ceilings, inability to skate and issues in between the ears

This is complete BS man, like really. Both guys were studs for teams and would take over games. Kakko dominated men at every level. They had it in them. They may not anymore thanks to this organization's inability to develop a player worth a damn. Slapping them on PP1 now, right, it may not work, but the Zegras', Hughes', Stutzle's were played and played and played some more. They weren't playing 14 mins a game for three years for soft perimeter primadonnas. Now, this team is ******.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

I mean I think relative to expectations, Daigle still takes the cake, but he's not far from Stefan/Yakupov territory.

Point per game average

Nail Yakupov
D+1: 0.65
D+2: 0.38
D+3: 0.41


Alexis Lafrenière
D+1: 0.38
D+2: 0.39
D+3: 0.44

 

[Rangers in 7]

This is complete BS man, like really. Both guys were studs for teams and would take over games. Kakko dominated men at every level. They had it in them. They may not anymore thanks to this organization's inability to develop a player worth a damn. Slapping them on PP1 now, right, it may not work, but the Zegras', Hughes', Stutzle's were played and played and played some more. They weren't playing 14 mins a game for three years for soft perimeter primadonnas. Now, this team is ******.

see this is it

these are two guys (laf and kakko) that dominated both players their age and older and not just at the junior level but also at the world juniors and in kakko's case the world championship against players that ALL PLAY IN THE NHL

ive argued extensively in this thread that players like zegras, hughes and stutzle have all been given opportunity's to fail and its ok

i will continue to die on this hill ESPECIALLY when panarin is able to float around and have a WHOOPING 2 POINTS in 5 games

but yes laf and kakko are the problem, just absolutely stupid

also WE NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO DRAFT HUGHES

 

[DanielBrassard]

Point per game average

Nail Yakupov
D+1: 0.65
D+2: 0.38
D+3: 0.41


Alexis Lafrenière
D+1: 0.38
D+2: 0.39
D+3: 0.44

I wonder what this looks like if scoring was as high when yakupov was playing as it is now

 

[Mandar]

Let's pretend that some other team had the 1OA that year.....what's everyone's opinion on how he would have fared on any of the other teams picking in the top 5 that year? Yes, I know its just speculation....