F Alexis Lafreniere (2020, 1st, NYR) part 4

[Dominance]

Rangers actively doing everything in their power to stunt his development.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

The rangers kids need more ice time. Coach sucks. Laffy Kaako and Chytil all need way more ice. Until then they won’t produce much

What's your solution? They don't deserve it.

You can't criticize anything substantial. They are all right now worse players than our top 5 forwards. There's only one top six spot left. They aren't going to play on the first PP.

There are only a few things that could be done better. Could Lafreniere, Kakko, and Chytil all have permanent spots on PP2 for the full season? Yes, I think they could. And I also think that the team could do a better job of mixing in a little extra ice time for PP2 during the course of the season in low leverage situations. That players like Miller or Blackwell get PP time over these three at times is poor coaching. I agree with that. That Blackwell has also gotten some top six time over Kakko/Lafreniere is also poor coaching. Could Kakko play some on the PK? Maybe he could. I'd prefer him there over Howden/Blackwell.

But we are also talking about really small decisions. Kakko and Lafreniere might've gotten unlucky that they were drafted by a team that has proven forwards, but you also expect more. If they were better right now, they'd play a lot more. What some want is that they are force-fed playing time and favorable situations to help their point totals. That can be a solution, but when you are talking about top 2 picks, it seems like the battle is already lost if the discussion has to get to that. I think Chytil's situation is a little different, as he probably has deserved a bigger role the last two seasons, but there are two proven top 6 centers ahead of him. They could put him on the wing in the top six, but then there's no alternative at 3C and that takes away a spot from Kakko/Lafreniere.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Rangers actively doing everything in their power to stunt his development.

With all due respect, I just don't see what could substantially be done differently.

As I said above, the complaints are very minor stuff. The major stuff is the level of play. It's the same thing with Kakko, and we heard the same things last year. This comes from everyone (Rangers fans, Finn's, Canadians, outside observers) that has been criticizing the Rangers, so I'm not blaming any one specific group of people for the complaints about the Rangers coaching staff with these players.

I think the reality of the situation is that these two players have not been as NHL ready as expected, and the team is not in a position to force-feed them minutes and situations. Even if they were force-fed minutes and situations, then they have numbers like Jack Hughes (16 points in 33 games, playing 18:36 per game). The numbers look better, but thats still not what's expected. More is expected, and what's needed is these kids to improve their games. The same goes for Jack Hughes with those numbers. I don't think anyone actually believes Hughes is playing that well.

If someone wants to tell me how the Rangers can help these kids improve their games, I'm all for that discussion being had. I'm also someone who thinks the criticisms of these players goes overboard at times and I'm not a huge proponent of the Rangers coach or management, but I also think these complaints people have that don't focus almost the entirety of the responsibility for the situation on the player are off.

 

[QJL]

Looks good tonight. Since the initial dry run, he’s at 10 points in his last 21 games. He has only played 15+ minutes 3 times in that span. Still leaves a lot to be desired as a #1 but we’re trending in the right direction.

 

[BigHitter67]

Looks good tonight. Since the initial dry run, he’s at 10 points in his last 21 games. He has only played 15+ minutes 3 times in that span. Still leaves a lot to be desired as a #1 but we’re trending in the right direction.

10 in 21 projects to 40 pt regular season. Thats solid enough for a teenager. Just has to keep up the pace

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Also only played 8 minuets tonight, Quinn has to go this is unacceptable

 

[Hockey Fanatik]

Jack Hughes was playing almost two more minutes per night, his rookie year

Alexis should definitely be playing at least 30 seconds more a night

 

[Dominance]

Jack Hughes was playing almost two more minutes per night, his rookie year

Alexis should definitely be playing at least 30 seconds more a night

And ample powerplay opportunities for Hughes, too.

 

[Hockey Fanatik]

And ample powerplay opportunities for Hughes, too.

That could be more attributed to NJ's lack of talent, comparatively, as well as his skillset being perfectly fit for a powerplay quarterback

 

[Dominance]

Man, kid scores a goal, shows fire, skates hard and is all over the puck and gets rewarded with 11 minutes of ice time.

I was excited when the Rangers won first overall because I figured it was good for him to be going to a competent team. Now, f*** that.

 

[Zats Muccarello]

Man, kid scores a goal, shows fire, skates hard and is all over the puck and gets rewarded with 11 minutes of ice time.

I was excited when the Rangers won first overall because I figured it was good for him to be going to a competent team. Now, f*** that.

need better coach

 

[Dominance]

need better coach

Seriously.

Like, does the Rangers front office really think they’re making the playoffs this year? Competing? It’s just incompetence to not give the kid more ice when he plays hard to deserve it.

 

[Zats Muccarello]

Seriously.

Like, does the Rangers front office really think they’re making the playoffs this year? Competing? It’s just incompetence to not give the kid more ice when he plays hard to deserve it.

They think its a real possibility and that chasing it would be good experience for the group

 

[Dominance]

They think its a real possibility and that chasing it would be good experience for the group

Great decision to prioritize the experience of Colin f***ing Blackwell.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Kid was amazing tonight, bad coaching is hurting him. He will be a superstar sooner than later when they can Quinn.

 

[rangersfansince08]

yea f*** Quinn. We're not going anywhere with him. I still think he is a placeholder for one more season.

 

[bl02]

Man, kid scores a goal, shows fire, skates hard and is all over the puck and gets rewarded with 11 minutes of ice time.

I was excited when the Rangers won first overall because I figured it was good for him to be going to a competent team. Now, f*** that.

and that is because there was basically no special teams time otherwise he would have had around 8 minutes.
Espn box score said he go closer to 13 but again if the there had been more pp or pk this game he probably gets around 10-11 min at most.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

What drives me crazy is how K'Andre Miller has a permanent spot on the PP. He has bad hands, and throws the puck away anytime he touches the puck on the PP, if its not a direct shot on net. We already have another defenseman on that second PP. What is even the reason for Miller on that unit? There's no reason why Lafreniere should not have Miller's spot on that PP. I'm a little more willing to accept Blackwell taking Chytil's spot because Blackwell, the winger, is better at winning FO's than Chytil, the center. You can't start a PP down 10-15 seconds because you have an automatic FO loss. And Blackwell is scoring.

The rest is a tough situation. The coach is trying to win games. It's not like he's wrong that Lafreniere isn't one of his six best forwards. I'm not convinced though that Lafreniere or Kakko would be any better right now being force-fed minutes. Look at Hughes.

 

[bigdog16]

Great decision to prioritize the experience of Colin f***ing Blackwell.

Blackwell has 6 goals in the last 7 games. Pretty tough to justify not playing him.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

One thing about Lafreniere that I think should be mentioned is that he has a great attitude. From day one of training camp, you could tell he was excited about being an NHL’er, being part of the team. He doesn’t pout, make excuses or complain in the media, and he’s often smiling and laughing with his teammates.

You would have no idea from his body language and attitude that he’s not having a great season. This is half the battle. He was ready to be an NHL’er from day 1 of his career in more than just the hockey ability sense. There are many players, including someone like Kakko, that don’t have the same type of attitude as Lafreniere, and I think it makes it harder for themselves in certain situations and it doesn’t help the locker room. Lafreniere acts like a pro already. I would not be surprised if he eventually got the captaincy. I think it’ll be him or Fox.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Very tough goal to score here. Off balance and some plug that allowed the goal to happen knocks him into the goalie while he’s shooting. 6 points in his last 14 games. It might not seem like that many points, but he doesn’t play PP and gets low ES minutes. He’s getting better. The way things are going I think he’s on pace to take Kreider’s top six spot at the start of next season.
https://mobile.twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/1383877003783274497

 

[canuck2010]

Tennyson isn't too bright is he?

 

[bl02]

Very tough goal to score here. Off balance and some plug that allowed the goal to happen knocks him into the goalie while he’s shooting. 6 points in his last 14 games. It might not seem like that many points, but he doesn’t play PP and gets low ES minutes. He’s getting better. The way things are going I think he’s on pace to take Kreider’s top six spot at the start of next season.

With same coach and pretty much same lineup? I would wager probably not. It's a joke he doesn't get a chance on the pp. what did he get 9 min today?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I hope he takes the spot and doesn’t give it back.

 

[Mr Rogers]

Averaging 1:16 of PP Toi per game so he's definitely playing on the 2nd unit (if he even gets on at all during a given game) on a team with a fairly decent PP. I wouldn't be worried at all with his production, i think he will be just fine.