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

[Roland of Gilead]

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.

Complete bust? Some ppl here are just playing EA NHL games at Playstation and have no brains. Not every player can be at their best when they come to the league. People are different and they have their own lifes, you don't know shit what they are going thru when they are young and all the pressure. Seems like you are the McDonalds fan, fast 5 minutes food makes you happy? Give the kid more time ffs. And you can always put those pathetic emojis after when somebody is saying that youre maybe wrong.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Lol it feels like just yesterday that Rangers fans were telling Sens fans that it would cost the #3 + #5 + something else for that 1st overall pick....

Ooof, forgot about those takes

 

[thefutures]

Only thing funnier than this guys play is the Rangers fomo they have with any young top pick

 

[Profet]

Only thing funnier than this guys play is the Rangers fomo they have with any young top pick

It's not FOMO if it's actually happening on a nightly basis.

It's just "missing out"

 

[Sypher04]

If you can honestly tell me with a straight face that when you watch him play you think he deserves more ice time... Go you.

I don't see it, coaches don't see it.

I’m saying he needed to play more immediately after being drafted and that being drafted to a team with an established core of players ahead of him and immediate cup aspirations has done him no favours. He was not drafted #1 to be a complimentary scorer and being the guy in junior to well down the depth chart at the nhl level has to be a huge adjustment for these kids.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Again... this is an example of people who don't watch Laf play.

When MacKinnon played, you could tell there was something special there. He had flashes of talent. He had his speed. He didn't put it together right away, but the components were there.

Laf is not that. Laf's point totals are the direct result of his line mates getting better.

He has no drive, he has no motor, he has no will to be great.

He isn't fast, he doesn't attempt 1 on 1 maneuvers, he doesn't do anything noteworthy.

Mackinnon also had a top 35 league wide finish as an 18 year old. So you knew there was potential there. It’s not the same as Lafreniere who has never done anything like that. MacK hit a rough patch, Lafreniere has yet to flash anything beyond being a Max Domi level future bad team scorer that can sort of give a good team a depth offensive minded guy in shorter spans.

 

[Sypher04]

Mackinnon also had a top 35 league wide finish as an 18 year old. So you knew there was potential there. It’s not the same as Lafreniere who has never done anything like that. MacK hit a rough patch, Lafreniere has yet to flash anything beyond being a Max Domi level future bad team scorer that can sort of give a good team a depth offensive minded guy in shorter spans.

I really wasn’t trying to draw any more of a comparison than to say that 3 years into the nhl is too early to call a player a bust.

MacKinnon was clearly a better player at young age, but the point I wanted to make was there were those who very much questioned his ceiling at the end of his first 4 years too.

And the reality is he’s had the type of developmental runway/opportunity a 1st overall pick imo needs to have a chance to thrive.

 

[Mattilaus]

What player as Buffalo developed? Team is ass.

Ahhh yes the same heiskanen fan who pops into every dahlin thread ever. Well I agree, Vegas clearly struggling with Eichel and Florida definitely hating having to play Reinhart. Boston also really just upset at having to play ullmark in net.

Now you will make some excuse as to why these players don't count and blah blah blah. Can we just skip all that? You made your daily Buffalo bashing comment on an innocuous self-depreciating joke so you can now continue with your day feeling good that you once again stuck it to Buffalo. No reason to continue further.

 

[Profet]

I’m saying he needed to play more immediately after being drafted and that being drafted to a team with an established core of players ahead of him and immediate cup aspirations has done him no favours. He was not drafted #1 to be a complimentary scorer and being the guy in junior to well down the depth chart at the nhl level has to be a huge adjustment for these kids.

This excuse works for a couple of years.

Hell I even accept that explanation with more talented players like Kakko and Chytil.

Laf is talentless. He doesn't have NHL quickness, NHL skating, or NHL game processing.

On top of that, he is poor defensively, and is always out of position.

Laf is Laf, no amount of ice time is going to make him more than what he is. And that's a 2nd/3rd line tweener who fills no special teams roles and thus will be a journeyman soon enough.

 

[The Burdened]

Ranger fans will breath a sigh of relief when he is off their team and they won't have to be in denial.
Happened to us the second Nolan Patrick was moved like we could finally stop pretending.

 

[Sypher04]

This excuse works for a couple of years.

Hell I even accept that explanation with more talented players like Kakko and Chytil.

Laf is talentless. He doesn't have NHL quickness, NHL skating, or NHL game processing.

On top of that, he is poor defensively, and is always out of position.

Laf is Laf, no amount of ice time is going to make him more than what he is. And that's a 2nd/3rd line tweener who fills no special teams roles and thus will be a journeyman soon enough.

Seems to me you have an ax to grind with the player. If everything you’re saying was true, he wouldn’t be playing, 1st overall or not.

Like all I’ve really said is it’s too early to make determinations, and being drafted to the rangers was a bad situation for him

It may be too late for him to be what he was drafted, but I’d like to see a change of scenery before writing him off. Not convinced there isn’t a quality player in there somewhere.

 

[LokiDog]

Couldn't it be the other way around- his lack of skill is why he isn't getting more ice time?

Andrei Svechnikov played his 18 year old post draft season on Carolina's 3rd line. He not only dominated, by the playoffs he had earned a promotion to the first line with Aho. As an example.

It’s also a myth. Laf has played with Chytil and Kakko, two youth who are supposed to be top six talents in their own right, as well as Zib and Kreider or Panarin and whoever is centering him. He hasn’t ever been saddled with bottom six talent. He just isn’t that good. He can be a complimentary physical net front guy if he finds his game and a team tries to mould him into something specific, but he has no other real strengths. He doesn’t process things well enough to really be a playmaker, doesn’t have the skating to be dangerous carrying the puck, doesn’t skate well enough to have the space to get good shots off. He can grab loose pucks around the net and tuck them in, but only if he gets to those areas. I don’t think he’ll ever put together more than a 25-20-45ish season.

 

[FrankSidebottom]

Yeah, he’s no good. Someone brought in Svechnikov, during D+1 seasons they found themselves in pretty similar spots. Svechnikov looked good and forced Rod to promote him. And Svechnikov is not some superstar, just a really good player. Lafreniere never looked so good, it’s mean but he was just a filler. Poor man’s Brandon Saad.

Yes, Panarin was/is a top 10 winger and Kreider has his fat long contract and is a good player too. But how the hell can you make an excuse out of it if your hyped 1OA was at no point able to outplay Chris fricking Kreider? It’s his fourth year and Lafreniere is far from Kreider, not even close. He doesn’t have any quality to put him ahead.

It‘s not about his stats, it’s about consistent flashes. He doesn’t show it, he doesn’t give you the feeling that his breakout is coming. In fact it’s quite opposite. The dude is just here and has a dirty goal/assist here and there once a week but nothing else. Huge disappointment for 1OA and no reasons to expect something meaningfully more.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

I hate Rangers, but this thread is just stupid. I hope that Alexis will shine in the future, I love to "hate" every star players in the teams I hate. Like I "hate" Adam Fox at Rangers, why? Because he is so good. I hope that Alexis will rise because NHL needs more stars. I love to "hate" players at the teams I dont like.

 

[Profet]

I hate Rangers, but this thread is just stupid. I hope that Alexis will shine in the future, I love to "hate" every star players in the teams I hate. Like I "hate" Adam Fox at Rangers, why? Because he is so good. I hope that Alexis will rise because NHL needs more stars. I love to hate.

I would love for Laf to explode and be a player.

But he won't.

 

[13th Floor]

So you expect him to have a lot of points and yet be given 3rd line minutes and maybe 20 seconds of the power play? This is a guy that has never seen 3rd/4th line minutes since Timbits hockey. Some players have a hard time adjusting to the lack of icetime. At least give him a season with top 6 minutes and see how it goes.

I never said I expected him to put up a certain amount of points. I was making the argument that his easier role is really an indictment against him, not an excuse for why he is struggling. If he were good and deserved more time, it would be abundantly obvious every game.

You're kind of insinuating that nobody has ever risen up a roster before.

 

[McShogun99]

Him and Yakupov have both put up similar numbers at the same stages of their career so far yet Yakupov was considered one of the biggest busts in draft history after 4 seasons. Same excuses for both players, blame the organization and the coach for not letting them succeed even though they do nothing to warrant top 6/1st PP ice time.

 

[Sypher04]

Him and Yakupov have both put up similar numbers at the same stages of their career so far yet Yakupov was considered one of the biggest busts in draft history after 4 seasons. Same excuses for both players, blame the organization and the coach for not letting them succeed even though they do nothing to warrant top 6/1st PP ice time.

There are some parrallels but I don’t see it being quite equivalent.

Well, first, Laff only has 3 years under his belt. But the bigger thing is the Oilers forcefed Yakupov opportunity that he squandered while Lafrenerie joined an already very good team and I think personally that works against some guys

 

[HBK27]

I’m saying he needed to play more immediately after being drafted and that being drafted to a team with an established core of players ahead of him and immediate cup aspirations has done him no favours. He was not drafted #1 to be a complimentary scorer and being the guy in junior to well down the depth chart at the nhl level has to be a huge adjustment for these kids.

Really sick of hearing this excuse over and over again from some posters.

Dawson Mercer is from the same draft class, wasn't really expected to make the team his draft +2 season but earned his way on and earned his way up the lineup. Countless other examples of young players doing the same on good teams.

No reason Laf couldn't have produced on the 3rd line matched up against 3rd defensive pairings, worked his way up or took advantage of the opportunities he did have in the top 6.

 

[hawksrule]

He’s been pretty good to start this year. He should have another few points. He was a beast the first game of the season, and good since.

Schneider and Miller have been the ones who’ve been abysmal this season.

He’s going to continue to set career highs, like he has every season of his career so far. He’s never gotten a full look in the top six or with PP1 time. He’ll be a 70-90 point player eventually, and there will be a lot of people admitting they overreacted.

I’ve watched every Ranger game this year. He was okay in the first game, and that’s pretty much it. In another game he lost a point where he was blatantly offsides, but that’s his fault. Other than that he’s been invisible.

 

[WarriorofTime]

I really wasn’t trying to draw any more of a comparison than to say that 3 years into the nhl is too early to call a player a bust.

Sure maybe in an "official, jury is out" sort of way, but we can certainly make inferences and comment on development/trajectory. At this point, if Lafreniere becomes a strong top line player, it's looking less and less likely it's with the Rangers.

 

[LokiDog]

I think if his stat line was identical to this point and his name was Alexei Larianov of Russia and not Alexis Lafreniere of Canada, he would have even more people calling him a massive bust and less defense than he already gets from posters here as well. Especially if he didn’t have a reputation for being “physical”. He doesn’t impact the game or make meaningful hits, doesn’t break up plays with his body or separate his man from the puck. He just gets some hits. They may as well be washed from the scoresheet as they’re irrelevant. But if he had a euro name and half the hits the whole NHL world would have their pitchforks out by now.

 

[Roland of Gilead]

But he won't.

Why not? You know somehow better? You are no profet, you have just a nick.

 

[John Mandalorian]

This thread feels a tad over the top.

MacKinnon 4th season:
20 mins per night
227 pp mins, 1st unit (14 ppp)
53 points in 82gp

Lafreniere 3rd season:
15 mins per night
111 pp mins, 2nd unit (4 ppp)
39 points in 81gp

The Avs were not good, but even at year 4 Mac was being fed big minutes and prime opportunities and really didn’t have much more than Lafreniere to show for it.
I am most definitely not saying Lafreniere is going to be MacKinnon. People will rightly point out over similar number of games first 3 years Mac had like 60 more points.

My only point here is it’s very much still too early to declare Lafreniere officially a bust.

I do think the kid needs a trade though. Being drafted by an already good team is great in theory, but Lafreniere should have gone to a bottom feeder, where he’d play big minutes and develop as they build around him in their core.

His development has been hindered by the draft lottery

MacKinnon has been an elite skater since he’s been the league. What elite level skill does Lafreniere possess?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I’ve watched every Ranger game this year. He was okay in the first game, and that’s pretty much it. In another game he lost a point where he was blatantly offsides, but that’s his fault. Other than that he’s been invisible.

Let’s save both of us time. We’ve been over this before about Lafreniere and I don’t regard your opinion.