Proposal: Lafrenière to Vancouver

[QJL]

Kids in his 3rd season and still can't get PP time as a recent 1OA? This kid is likely the next Yakupov. Van is better off getting a 1st + for Kuzmenko at TDL than Laf.

Yeah he just can’t beat out power play slugs Kreider, Panarin, or Zibanejad for a spot on the top unit. (The Rangers second unit averages about 1min a game, near lowest in the league a second unit).

 

[Cancuks]

I think he'll break out on a new team. But the Rangers will likely hold onto him until his value is almost nothing. Same with Kakko.

 

[Vancouver_2010]

canucks say no, you have to be kidding me.

 

[TS Quint]

Still a ridiculous proposal.

Kuzmenko, even putting aside for the moment that he's nearly SIX years older than Laf, has put up half of his production on the PP (where Laf gets almost no time, and Kuz wouldn't see PP time on the Rangers either). At even strength, they are pretty much at a statistical dead heat (Kuz has one more point in one fewer game).

And even then, Laf has opened the season on a bit of a cold streak in terms of his shooting. He's only shooting 5.9%. His average shooting percentage over the previous two seasons? 17.5%.

Laf is a JUST turned 21 year old who is being played out of position on the RW and is in the midst of a frigid cold streak with his shooting. He will continue to get better, eventually get back to his real position, get himself a regular shot on the PP, and have his shot trend back towards its usual accuracy. We aren't giving that up for a soon-to-be 27 year old whose current numbers are about on par with where Laf (during a cold stretch) is right now.

If the Rangers thought playing Laf in position, on the PP and all those other excuses would give him 11 points in 12 games they would have done it.

 

[Knight53]

Canucks aren’t trading a 26 year old PPG top line winger who has instant chemistry with their 1C.

 

[smoneil]

If the Rangers thought playing Laf in position, on the PP and all those other excuses would give him 11 points in 12 games they would have done it.

Again, over whom? Panarin (17 points in 13 games, including 9 on the PP)? Zibanejad (15 points in 13 games, including 9 on the PP)? Kreider (who scored more PP goals than anyone else in the league last year)? Or Trocheck, who is out there to win draws on the PP? You want to talk about how there should be more of an even split between PP1 and PP2? Sure. I completely agree. But there's just no room on PP1 right now. The first unit is just that good.

 

[DatDude44]

your board doesn't seem to agree with you. Are you sure you're not mixing up Kakko's and Laf's play this season?

I’m not a ranger fan

 

[TS Quint]

Again, over whom? Panarin (17 points in 13 games, including 9 on the PP)? Zibanejad (15 points in 13 games, including 9 on the PP)? Kreider (who scored more PP goals than anyone else in the league last year)? Or Trocheck, who is out there to win draws on the PP? You want to talk about how there should be more of an even split between PP1 and PP2? Sure. I completely agree. But there's just no room on PP1 right now. The first unit is just that good.

#1, that unit is average.

you act like anyone gives a crap about Trochek and the extra 3 faceoffs wins out of 100 over Zib. Easily Trochek. But Kreider could easily return to his regular scoring after an outlier year as his pace is now.

You’re getting a 75 point player if you eliminate all those excuses for Laf and he just a kid right? So he just going to get better. That’s a Seems like an easy decision really.

 

[Unbiased Fan]

Is there anyway the rangers could make Lafranier + contracts for JT Miller work? Or are there no high priced contracts they’d move

 

[Savant]

Not so sure about that.

Erik Johnson traded midway through his 3rd season
Yakupov was traded after his 4th season
Berard was traded during his 3rd season
Murphy was traded before his 100th game with Detroit
Wickenheiser was traded during his 4th season

So it seems to happen 1-2 times a decade. It wouldn't shock me at all if Lafreniere was moved some time in the next 15 months.

So let’s talk about the Erik Johnson trade because that’s kind of an interesting one. He was dealt, with Jay McClement, for Kevin Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart. This was the year after Johnson’s knee exploded. McClement was a nice player but was basically a throw in.

Shattenkirk was a first round pick at the same position as Johnson, taken in the draft after, with a different play style and Steward was a power winger with upside.

So we have Lafrenière here being Johnson, and if we are looking at the Johnson trade, which you brought up, who are some other wings that went in the following draft? Funny enough the best mid first round winger that draft was probably Othmann, but some of the other names would be guys like Boucher (OTT), Coronato (CGY), Rosen (BUF), Lysell , (BOS), Samoskevich (FLA), L’herveau (NSH), and Olausson (COL). If the Rangers would be looking for a ‘Shattenkirk equivalent’ those are the players that fit the criteria; but unlike a lot of those guys, Shatterkirk has played NHL games before he was traded. And again I’m not saying these are players that would or wouldn’t be traded, we are just looking at a winger drafted in the first round the year after Lafreniere.

Chris Stewart was drafted same year/same round as Johnson. Like Shattenkirk another mid first rounder. And I am not going to go through like every name again like I did with the last paragraph but if we are looking at a team that wants Lafreniere and we are using the Johnson trade as a comp you are looking at something like this, (yes pick swap was involved and yes there was a vet throwin)

- Ceulemens and Chinakov from CBJ
- Boucher and Greig from OTT (this one probably makes the most sense to the Rangers)
- Coronato and Zary from CGY

Those are the strictly criteria based trades that would fulfill the Erik Johnson scenario. Just some food for thought. These aren’t perfect but based on precedent. Dallas could theoretically fulfill this with W. Johnson and Bourque but that isn’t happening. NJ could put something together but that isn’t happening; although if Lafreniere was dealt for Mercer that would be very eerily similar to though (but again wouldn’t happen); Chicago could potentially do Reichel and Allen but that’s less. Sorry if I missed anything else but I think that’s enough from me

 

[TBF1972]

Damn 23 laughs, and clearly the "at you" not "with you" kind and no likes....gotta be close to a record.

i may give it a like to just mess up your math.

devils fan

 

[smoneil]

#1, that unit is average.

you act like anyone gives a crap about Trochek and the extra 3 faceoffs wins out of 100 over Zib. Easily Trochek. But Kreider could easily return to his regular scoring after an outlier year as his pace is now.

You’re getting a 75 point player if you eliminate all those excuses for Laf and he just a kid right? So he just going to get better. That’s a Seems like an easy decision really.

That unit (with Strome in and Trocheck out as the only change) was the 4th best power play in the league last season. You don't seem to grasp the concept of "average." They aren't going to scrap it 13 games into the following season after having that kind of success.

And again, I'd love to see the second unit get more of a 50/50 split on power plays. That would give Laf more time on the PP. But there is legitimately no good argument for breaking up what has been one of the best PP units in the league.

 

[Mrfenn92]

Mid first round pick and a mid round pick

 

[TS Quint]

That unit (with Strome in and Trocheck out as the only change) was the 4th best power play in the league last season. You don't seem to grasp the concept of "average." They aren't going to scrap it 13 games into the following season after having that kind of success.

And again, I'd love to see the second unit get more of a 50/50 split on power plays. That would give Laf more time on the PP. But there is legitimately no good argument for breaking up what has been one of the best PP units in the league.

You don’t seem to grasp the concept of last year. They are average this year. Kreider is back to his average self this year. Things change, outliers regress to their mean.

The FACT is if the NYR thought those petty excuses were holding Laf back from being a 75 point player he would be on PP1. They won’t be getting that out of Trochek.