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

[RickyLafleur]

He's 22 lol. I get it he hasn't lived up to franchise status yet, but he's gotten better every year. Pacing for 53 pts is solid for a D+4 player.

He is pacing for 53 points while his linemate has exceeded that already halfway through the season.

 

[haveandare]

He is pacing for 53 points while his linemate has exceeded that already halfway through the season.

His linemate is one of the best players in the world and also plays PP1 on one of the best units in the league. It’s okay to not score as much as Panarin. Plenty of good players score less than him.

 

[Jyrki]

Last night Laf was the most noticeable Ranger. Very effective w/ Panarin and could've easily had more than 2 points. All over the puck and made something happen more often than not.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Last night Laf was the most noticeable Ranger. Very effective w/ Panarin and could've easily had more than 2 points. All over the puck and made something happen more often than not.

FWIW this is the kind of thing that was happening with Byfield before he started popping off

"how did he not get points" turns into "he had two but should have had 4, god damn third assists"

Good for Laf!

 

[TGWL]

He is pacing for 53 points while his linemate has exceeded that already halfway through the season.

Panarin - non powerplay points 33. On pace for 69
Lafreniere - non powerplay points 21 on page for 44
Sure, there's a difference, but the message you're trying to paint here is bad.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

Honest question. Other than hater Devils and Flyers fans who are just haters because of the rivalry why are so many you guys actively rooting against this kid? Is it because the Rangers kind of lucked into him? He seems like a likeable kid even before this season. He had a very challenging circumstance. It must be incredibly hard being a first overall who didn't live up to the billing for a few years. He never complained, always had a smile on his face and was the ultimate team player. He seems like a really good kid but yet it seems like so many are actively rooting for him to fail. No he's not a Jack Hughes level player and likely never will be. Maybe he never lives up to first overall. But he's a very useful top 6 player this season. One of the best on one of the better teams in the league. I just don't understand the hate for the kid. And I also don't know how he's supposed to get the points of other #1 overall players never playing on the #1 PP unit. He has four fewer than Draisaitl and Debrincat three fewer EVP than Sebastian Aho, John Tavares, and Jesper Bratt for example and two fewer than Malkin, and one fewer than Matthew Tkachuk.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

He's alright player. Not close to being worthy of #1 overall, but considering it was a massive fluke that NYR picked #1 that year anyway, we can say that justice has been served, and he's playing like fair mid-round pick.

Yeah but his career isn't over yet. Besides not every #1 overall is McDavid or Bedard. Some are Ryan Nugent Hopkins. Granted he was actually relatively highly touted.

 

[DearDiary]

Honest question. Other than hater Devils and Flyers fans who are just haters because of the rivalry why are so many you guys actively rooting against this kid? Is it because the Rangers kind of lucked into him? He seems like a likeable kid even before this season. He had a very challenging circumstance. It must be incredibly hard being a first overall who didn't live up to the billing for a few years. He never complained, always had a smile on his face and was the ultimate team player. He seems like a really good kid but yet it seems like so many are actively rooting for him to fail. No he's not a Jack Hughes level player and likely never will be. Maybe he never lives up to first overall. But he's a very useful top 6 player this season. One of the best on one of the better teams in the league. I just don't understand the hate for the kid. And I also don't know how he's supposed to get the points of other #1 overall players never playing on the #1 PP unit. He has four fewer than Draisaitl and Debrincat three fewer EVP than Sebastian Aho, John Tavares, and Jesper Bratt for example and two fewer than Malkin, and one fewer than Matthew Tkachuk.

I want him to fail because he's a 1st overall that got handed to a cup contender. I would root against Bedard too if he went to Vegas or Boston. But to be fair, I want all those teams to fail in general.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I want him to fail because he's a 1st overall that got handed to a cup contender. I would root against Bedard too if he went to Vegas or Boston

The Rangers were not a cup contender that year or anywhere close to it. They likely wouldn't have made the playoffs that year if not for Covid and even with Covid the Rangers were literally the least competitive team in the play in round that year. Were they as bad as most teams that get #1 overall? No. But calling them a cup contender is wild. And he didn't get handed to them, they won a lottery.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

The Rangers were in the middle of 4 years of not making the playoffs. I'm counting the Covid year because they were out of playoff position when the season ended. Just "got lucky" there was a global pandemic, and got embarrassed in the play in round because they didn't belong anywhere near it. Let's not pretend they were Boston or Vegas.

 

[QJL]

He is pacing for 53 points while his linemate has exceeded that already halfway through the season.

Panarin - 33 EV Points
Trocheck - 26 EV Points
Lafreniere - 21 EV Points
Kreider - 20 EV Points
Zibanejad - 17 EV Points

Panarin - 24 PP Points
Zibanejad - 20 PP Points
Trocheck - 14 PP Points
Kreider - 12 PP Points
Lafreniere - 4 PP Points

You flip Lafreniere in for any of the others on PP1 and he's pacing ~65 points.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He's progressed into a legit top 6 complimentary winger. His details are so much better, he's moving his feet, and his patience and poise with the puck have improved a bunch. The patience part is key, as he doesn't have the processor to play "fast hockey" at precise levels, and tends to panic when he thinks he has to make a quick play.

But when he's able to take his time and lets things develop, he can make plays. Having a guy like Panarin has helped a ton, as he demands a lot of attention from the opposition, giving Lafreniere that much more time and space.

 

[Machinehead]

FWIW this is the kind of thing that was happening with Byfield before he started popping off

"how did he not get points" turns into "he had two but should have had 4, god damn third assists"

Good for Laf!

He had a wicked third assist in Montreal the other night where I looked at the boxscore after he made the entire play and just went

 

[Snatcher Demko]

I thought he was very noticeable last night, and in a good way. We'll trade you Kuzmenko for him!

 

[winnipegger]

It's RNH. You didn't get a super star but you got a top 6 player so stop crying. He's not Nail Yakupov.

 

[FDBluth]

Yeah but his career isn't over yet. Besides not every #1 overall is McDavid or Bedard. Some are Ryan Nugent Hopkins. Granted he was actually relatively highly touted.

He was touted as a franchise player, kind of one level below McDavid/seemingly Bedard. Kind of more on a Stamkos level. Right now he's definitely below that and it's looking like it'll be a success if he turns into a first line player. Which is decent for a lower level first overall pick. At least it doesn't look like he's going to bust out of the league.

 

[Bileur]

Honest question. Other than hater Devils and Flyers fans who are just haters because of the rivalry why are so many you guys actively rooting against this kid? Is it because the Rangers kind of lucked into him? He seems like a likeable kid even before this season. He had a very challenging circumstance. It must be incredibly hard being a first overall who didn't live up to the billing for a few years. He never complained, always had a smile on his face and was the ultimate team player. He seems like a really good kid but yet it seems like so many are actively rooting for him to fail. No he's not a Jack Hughes level player and likely never will be. Maybe he never lives up to first overall. But he's a very useful top 6 player this season. One of the best on one of the better teams in the league. I just don't understand the hate for the kid. And I also don't know how he's supposed to get the points of other #1 overall players never playing on the #1 PP unit. He has four fewer than Draisaitl and Debrincat three fewer EVP than Sebastian Aho, John Tavares, and Jesper Bratt for example and two fewer than Malkin, and one fewer than Matthew Tkachuk.

He really does have a surprising number of haters.

I’d gladly take him on the sens.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

He was touted as a franchise player, kind of one level below McDavid/seemingly Bedard. Kind of more on a Stamkos level. Right now he's definitely below that and it's looking like it'll be a success if he turns into a first line player. Which is decent for a lower level first overall pick. At least it doesn't look like he's going to bust out of the league.

I think his ceiling with PP time and if he improves his game is a PPG player. I know we were all hoping he'd be a 100+ point player that seems unlikely but I think he can still become a first line type player with PP time. I mean technically you could argue he's a first liner now since he's on our best line. But I mean first line production.

 

[SharksCyclops]

Didn't the OP say that they didn't even think Lafreniere could crack an NHL team as a role player in a few years, or something along those lines? Gotcha.

 

[rubenflamshep]

What catches my attention with Lafreniere is he's just 22. Plently of time to figure things out in the NHL! And he seems to be doing just that; point-production in the 80th percentile for his age, right around where Henrik Sedin was at this point in his career

 

[MrCreamm]

EP article on Lafrienere which is a fairly interesting read and talks about becoming a better dual threat, his increased speed, advanced stats, and more.

 

[Andy]

He looked like a completely different player when I watched him play against the habs last week. His skating seemed a lot better. Like noticeably so. Seemed quickly and more agile.

I found he was using the perimeter far less, especially in the neutral zone.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

EP article on Lafrienere which is a fairly interesting read and talks about becoming a better dual threat, his increased speed, advanced stats, and more.

That's a great writeup, reflects a lot of the changes I've seen in his game.

 

[Wierzbowski426]

Honest question. Other than hater Devils and Flyers fans who are just haters because of the rivalry why are so many you guys actively rooting against this kid? Is it because the Rangers kind of lucked into him? He seems like a likeable kid even before this season. He had a very challenging circumstance. It must be incredibly hard being a first overall who didn't live up to the billing for a few years. He never complained, always had a smile on his face and was the ultimate team player. He seems like a really good kid but yet it seems like so many are actively rooting for him to fail. No he's not a Jack Hughes level player and likely never will be. Maybe he never lives up to first overall. But he's a very useful top 6 player this season. One of the best on one of the better teams in the league. I just don't understand the hate for the kid. And I also don't know how he's supposed to get the points of other #1 overall players never playing on the #1 PP unit. He has four fewer than Draisaitl and Debrincat three fewer EVP than Sebastian Aho, John Tavares, and Jesper Bratt for example and two fewer than Malkin, and one fewer than Matthew Tkachuk.

Its definitely his fanbase fyi.

 

[Grifter3511]

I know this isn't Earth Shattering news and many people already felt that way/knew but if you follow the Rangers it's pretty much official now with the ship sailing on him being anything in the NHL.

Many Ranger fans, myself included, still had a glimmer of hope for him coming into the year.

His only contribution on the year was a backdoor tap-in goal from Panarin. He's been either invisible or noticeably bad other than that. In fact, pretty much all of his NHL goals outside of a couple of highlight reel goals where he dangled, were all back door taps or cleanig up garbage that someone else created for him.

He has no mind or IQ where to go without the puck to get open. When he has the puck he just kind of skates into traffic and has to get rid of it, no skill or ability to beat defenders or make time and space for himself.

Not only will he not ever be a star, I quesiton if he can even stay in the league as a role player or depth player. It really is mindbending how he could be so hyped and dominant in juniors but so bad as a Pro in the NHL.

It's crazy that this wasn't even half a season ago.