The jury is officially in: Alexis Lafreniere is a complete bust

[Devonator]

Good on the kid.....hopefully he can continue his solid play....would be huge for the Rangers going forward!

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

First there was Alex the great. Now there is Alexis the better than average. Alexis the hot streak almost ppg guy. Alexis the.. nah, for real, hope he plays pretty good but not against the Sabres. You know how it is.

 

[Crease]

Is the jury officially out again?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I know people lose sight of the big picture on this website very often, but he's gotten better every year of his career. It's been slow until this point, but the TOI wasn't there before this season. He's now producing like a top 6 player because he's getting top 6 minutes.

Some of the reactions after last season especially made no sense. Like I get people are mad he had a bad playoffs, but it's a 7 game sample. It happens, and the whole team basically aside from 1 or 2 didn't show up. I don't think the 3LW is the real guy to blame there. Then the preseason. Why put so much emphasis on those games? We see every season that some of the guys with spots going in use it as a warm up and don't take it seriously.

The big picture is that this is a player who has gotten better every season of his career. I know it's not at the pace all of us wanted, but he's still going to become a 1st line forward. It's better that it happens at 24 than it doesn't happen.

 

[Whoot Whoot]

He has almost looked elite a few times this year

 

[AIexisLafreniereNYR]

Looking like he might actually score 40 points this season.

Gonna score way more than 40 playing with Panarin , and gaining confidence

 

[ORRFForever]

I am not a big stats guy but, from what I've heard, he's always had very good 5 on 5 stats.

More credit needs to be given to players for 5 on 5 play. So many players feast on the PP and do nothing 5 on 5, then people look at the stats and say they are better than they are.

 

[Machinehead]

The Baguette Line is inevitable.

 

[NickyFotiu]

I am not a big stats guy but, from what I've heard, he's always had very good 5 on 5 stats.

More credit needs to be given to players for 5 on 5 play. So many players feast on the PP and do nothing 5 on 5, then people look at the stats and say they are better than they are.

I do not care much about stats. I was disappointed in his effort last season. Then in training camp I was starting to worry. Something clicked towards the end of training camp. He has been skating harder, faster and making more creative plays than he ever did before this season. I went from nearly hopeless to very hopeful. I'd like to see him take yet another step up but so far so good. He is looking more now like the guy I hoped to see 4 years ago. I think Lavi as coach and playing with Bread has meant a lot but Laf is looking quicker and playing harder.

 

[ORRFForever]

I do not care much about stats. I was disappointed in his effort last season. Then in training camp I was starting to worry. Something clicked towards the end of training camp. He has been skating harder, faster and making more creative plays than he ever did before this season. I went from nearly hopeless to very hopeful. I'd like to see him take yet another step up but so far so good. He is looking more now like the guy I hoped to see 4 years ago. I think Lavi as coach and playing with Bread has meant a lot but Laf is looking quicker and playing harder.

Well said.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

Just one point behind McDavid and the Rangers are 10-2. Who's the real bust?

 

[Windy River]

Way too early to call total bust imo. Really it's just the after effects of the Stüzle/Sanderson draft - everything just looks bad in comparison. There's a lot more hockey to be played, I wouldn't worry about it right now.

This stopped being true about a year ago. The fact that he’s a bust is well established. He’s not just a #1 pick, but a #1 that was considered to be something special.

Even having bagged an outlier game early in the season he’s still heading for yet another sub-0.5ppg season. Not using the word bust in the same sentence as Laf really shouldn’t be a thing anymore.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

This stopped being true about a year ago. The fact that he’s a bust is well established. He’s not just a #1 pick, but a #1 that was considered to be something special.

Even having bagged an outlier game early in the season he’s still heading for yet another sub-0.5ppg season. Not using the word bust in the same sentence as Laf really shouldn’t be a thing anymore.

He has 9 points in 13 games which is approx 0.69ppg (nice)

 

[Plastic Joseph]

nice burst on his goal tonight, he does look faster.

He could be in line to have that 55-60 pt season I was hoping he would have last year, which would put him on the path to a 75+ pt guy in a few more years. Far, far from a bust.

 

[TheRumble]

He belongs in the Ryan Nugent Hopkins zone.

He's an everyday NHLer that most fans would be happy with having in their team.

He's just not one anyone wants to draft as a 1st overall pick.

 

[Levitate]

nice burst on his goal tonight, he does look faster.

He could be in line to have that 55-60 pt season I was hoping he would have last year, which would put him on the path to a 75+ pt guy in a few more years. Far, far from a bust.

The tough thing and the issue that's always going to hold him back for at least the next few years (probably) is that most of his production will be at 5v5. If he can put up 50-60 points mostly at 5v5 then that's huge because he's not getting time on the first powerplay that other young players do. He'll get some PP points with the second power play but Rangers powerplay overall is what, 2nd in the league? He's not replacing anyone on PP1 right now unless there's an injury, so that will always "depress" his point totals compared to peers who play on the top powerplay

It's a weird situation

 

[Dominance]

Look at that speed to the net. He’s a full step faster than last year.

 

[Shesty31]

He belongs in the Ryan Nugent Hopkins zone.

He's an everyday NHLer that most fans would be happy with having in their team.

He's just not one anyone wants to draft as a 1st overall pick.

Pretty fair comparison honestly. Though he still has time to grow into a better player.

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

He belongs in the Ryan Nugent Hopkins zone.

He's an everyday NHLer that most fans would be happy with having in their team.

He's just not one anyone wants to draft as a 1st overall pick.

I mean sure, but not one Rangers fan would've been happy with an RNH career arc pre draft.

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

I'M SO HAPPY FOR ALEXIS!!! 9 pts in 13 games is no joke for his age and he's seeming to turn a corner. I remember watching him first time he reminded me of me when I first played 1st year. (at a much lower level.)

You see the IQ, you don't see the execution of it. Thus it appears he sucks.

When in reality his body just can't do what his mind thinks. I remember going to Rangers HF and telling them my thoughts and they were very polite and supportive. Rangers fans are awesome and they deserve it.


Obviously small sample size but he's consistently putting up points on a top line.
29 goals 31 assists is my final prediction. 60 pts. on the dot.
BTW: nice reverse jynx thread @Filthy Dangles

Almost as soon as you made this he picked it up, true hockey fan.

 

[Leafshater67]

Kakko is a bust

 

[ZachaFlockaFlame]

I know people lose sight of the big picture on this website very often, but he's gotten better every year of his career. It's been slow until this point, but the TOI wasn't there before this season. He's now producing like a top 6 player because he's getting top 6 minutes.

Some of the reactions after last season especially made no sense. Like I get people are mad he had a bad playoffs, but it's a 7 game sample. It happens, and the whole team basically aside from 1 or 2 didn't show up. I don't think the 3LW is the real guy to blame there. Then the preseason. Why put so much emphasis on those games? We see every season that some of the guys with spots going in use it as a warm up and don't take it seriously.

The big picture is that this is a player who has gotten better every season of his career. I know it's not at the pace all of us wanted, but he's still going to become a 1st line forward. It's better that it happens at 24 than it doesn't happen.

That Jersey series wasn't built for him and Kakko, the Devils were the worst matchup for their kids + most of their roster. While it was funny, he did absolutely nothing that series, it was pretty understandable he didn't do much. The Rangers were gonna win that series on the special teams + goaltending and to their credit, they almost f***ing did it.

 

[Penguin Suited Up]

Just one point behind McDavid and the Rangers are 10-2. Who's the real bust?

Still Lafreniere.

 

[blundluntman]

I know people lose sight of the big picture on this website very often, but he's gotten better every year of his career. It's been slow until this point, but the TOI wasn't there before this season. He's now producing like a top 6 player because he's getting top 6 minutes.

Some of the reactions after last season especially made no sense. Like I get people are mad he had a bad playoffs, but it's a 7 game sample. It happens, and the whole team basically aside from 1 or 2 didn't show up. I don't think the 3LW is the real guy to blame there. Then the preseason. Why put so much emphasis on those games? We see every season that some of the guys with spots going in use it as a warm up and don't take it seriously.

The big picture is that this is a player who has gotten better every season of his career. I know it's not at the pace all of us wanted, but he's still going to become a 1st line forward. It's better that it happens at 24 than it doesn't happen.

I hate to be that guy but I don't buy any of this.

This game isn't proof that his production depends on his TOI. He played 14 minutes in this game and the last. He's had 3 points in the 7 games where he played over 16 minutes. He actually is only averaging 20 more seconds than last year anyway.

On top of that, before this 3 point game, he was basically at .5 ppg which is the exact same pace as last year. One good game doesn't override an overall pattern. Sure, maybe he's still improving but none of those points seemed to show he's significantly better this season.

People didn't blame Lafreniere for the Rangers losing in the playoffs (as far as I remember anyway), they simply pointed out that his lack of productivity carrying over from an 82-game season showed signs of an overall pattern of productive ineptitude. It's the same thing with the preseason you're referring to. People aren't using small sample sizes and nitpicking at them to prove their point, they're looking at a continuum of games over the years and acknowledging that he hasn't improved all too much.

For a 1st round pick, there is usually a somewhat non-linear jump in productivity as a result of "everything clicking" or "putting all the pieces together". That hasn't been the case with Lafreniere. He hasn't drastically improved certain areas of his game like others . Hughes for example, had the raw skills but wasn't acclimated to the pace of the NHL and lacked the physicality before everything clicked. Mackinnon had the raw skills and physicality but didn't approach the game in a strategic manner that catered to his skill set. Lafreniere doesn't have the raw skills either of those players had, I don't see what's so different about him this season at all tbh.

I'm happy that he had a big game but I'm not convinced he's turned the corner.

 

[Siludin]

First there was Alex the great. Now there is Alexis the better than average. Alexis the hot streak almost ppg guy. Alexis the.. nah, for real, hope he plays pretty good but not against the Sabres. You know how it is.

Alexis the Youthful Talented Winger Who Unsurprisingly Needs Consistent Top-6 Minutes, a Skilled Centre, and Powerplay Time to Break Out
May his name be etched alongside the other greats known as Alex.