{"id":302791,"date":"2025-10-14T14:09:21","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T14:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/302791\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T14:09:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T14:09:21","slug":"the-rangers-need-alexis-lafreniere-to-bounce-back-can-the-no-1-pick-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/302791\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rangers need Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re to bounce back. Can the No. 1 pick deliver?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exactly one year ago, Alexis Lafreni\u00e8re was riding high.<\/p>\n

Following a career-best 57-point season, the New York Rangers winger ripped off a five-game point streak to begin the 2024-25 campaign. He had just turned 23 and would soon sign a life-changing, seven-year contract totaling $52.15 million. But the NHL has a way of humbling those who think they have it all figured out.<\/p>\n

The Rangers began to crash and burn in late November, with Lafreni\u00e8re as one of several leading culprits. From Nov. 25 through the end of the season, a very sizable sample size of 63 games, he only mustered 29 points and finished with 45.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year wasn\u2019t great, obviously,\u201d he said at the end of training camp. \u201cWe all know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t strictly about a slippage in points production, either.<\/p>\n

Lafreni\u00e8re has never been considered a strong defensive forward, but his offensive struggles seemed to have a carryover effect. On a few glaring occasions, his spotty coverage and lackadaisical backchecks drew ire from fans. At the time, he stressed the need to shorten his shifts and ensure he wasn\u2019t caught with a low gas tank when possession flipped to the opposition. But it\u2019s hard not to think that the frustrating slump seeped into all aspects of his game.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little bit of everything,\u201d Lafreni\u00e8re said when asked if he could pinpoint what went wrong. \u201cProduction, consistency \u2014it just didn\u2019t go well, and that\u2019s on you as a player to fix it and try to find ways to be better. I had a lot of time this summer to work on my game.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-2, 191-pounder returned to his usual offseason gym, Centre Performe Plus in Boisbriand, Quebec, where he trains with NHLers such as Jonathan Huberdeau, Anthony Mantha and brothers Mathieu and Pierre-Olivier Joseph. But because the Rangers missed the playoffs, he had more time there than in any previous summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just tried to kind of reset, take some time off, and get right back to work,\u201d said Lafreni\u00e8re, who turned 24 on Saturday. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s motivation this year. We\u2019ve got to have a bounce-back year as a team, and me personally, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the risk of stating the obvious, the Rangers could really use it.<\/p>\n

In the last 10-plus months, New York has traded away forwards Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko and Chris Kreider, among others, with new captain J.T. Miller the only top-six piece acquired in return. He, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad are being asked to carry the offensive burden up front, but they\u2019ll buckle under that weight if quality help doesn\u2019t emerge. Trocheck\u2019s recent upper-body injury<\/a>\u00a0reinforces that point even further.<\/p>\n

Lafreni\u00e8re and fellow 2020 draftee Will Cuylle must fortify the top six \u2014 and if they fail to do so, the five-on-five issues that festered last season could get even worse.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis skill set is through the roof,\u201d Trocheck said of Lafreni\u00e8re last week. \u201cIt seems like he worked really hard this summer. He\u2019s in shape. He\u2019s playing fast. It\u2019s just a matter for him of finding the right times to make your moves and knowing when it\u2019s time to live to fight another day. I think he just needs to keep it simple and have confidence in himself. He\u2019s very talented, so I\u2019ve got a lot of high hopes for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been far from perfect through the first four games under coach Mike Sullivan, two of which resulted in shutout losses on home ice<\/a>, but there have been encouraging signs, particularly on the Rangers\u2019 first road trip. It was Lafreni\u00e8re who notched the team\u2019s first goal of the season in Thursday\u2019s 4-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres by doing exactly what the new coaching staff has been preaching: getting to the high-danger areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to get him to play a little bit more of a north-south game,\u201d Sullivan said prior to Saturday\u2019s 6-1 win in Pittsburgh<\/a> against the Penguins. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to get him to hang onto pucks in the offensive zone. We\u2019re trying to get him to get inside the dots and get to the interior of the rink. If you\u2019re going to score goals in this league, my experience has been, you\u2019ve got to be willing to go to the interior of the rink to score a fair amount of them. Laf will get the odd goal ripping a shot from outside the dots, but he\u2019s not going to score 30-plus (from there).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal he scored in Buffalo is a perfect example,\u201d Sullivan added. \u201cIt\u2019s a blue-paint goal, as we would call it. And he\u2019s capable of that because he\u2019s big and strong and he\u2019s got great stick skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lafreni\u00e8re benefited from getting in tight on Sabres goalie Alex Lyon, positioning himself to pounce on a Panarin rebound and break the team\u2019s 71:43 scoring drought. It was one of five individual high-danger scoring chances he\u2019s been credited with this season, which is tied for third on the Rangers, according to Natural Stat Trick.<\/p>\n

\n

Laffy cleans it up. \ud83e\uddf9 pic.twitter.com\/IOyYEBmgcE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Two of those came Thursday in Buffalo, a game in which Lafreni\u00e8re looked engaged and active throughout. He added his first assist of the season on Miller\u2019s goal late in the third period, which he earned through effort and puck pursuit.<\/p>\n

After making the pass that sent the Rangers on the attack, Lafreni\u00e8re then raced the full length of the ice and won a puck battle in the corner against two Sabres. He then found Braden Schneider near the blue line, who whipped a shot that Miller tipped for the game-sealing tally.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n (Shayna Goldman \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n

He carried that momentum into Saturday, registering no points but still serving as a key component on New York\u2019s best line with Panarin and Zibanejad. That trio generated an 80.75 percent expected goals-for rate while producing three high-danger chances without allowing any.<\/p>\n

The chance to play with Panarin, in particular, is something the Rangers believe can unlock Lafreni\u00e8re\u2019s potential. Along with Trocheck, they formed the NHL\u2019s highest-scoring line in 2023-24, amassing 54 goals and allowing 39 across 863-plus minutes together, according to MoneyPuck.com. The trio began 2024-25 intact, but were separated once New York began to fade and bounced around for much of the season.<\/p>\n

Sullivan got the band back together in training camp, and even though Trocheck\u2019s injury has put the arrangement on hold for now, the hope is that Sullivan\u2019s up-tempo system<\/a> combined with Panarin\u2019s creativity in transition will open up scoring chances for Lafreni\u00e8re.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying with Bread, he\u2019s going to make plays everywhere,\u201d Lafreni\u00e8re said. \u201cOn the rush if we have numbers, or even two-on-twos and stuff like that, with a guy like that, you gotta try and make plays for him. You know it\u2019s going to come back to you. \u2026 It\u2019s hard to score at five-on-five in the NHL, so if you can get chances off the rush, it helps a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few examples came Saturday, most notably a play early in the third period. Lafreni\u00e8re tracked back to retrieve a puck in the defensive zone after the Pens lost possession and quickly got it to Panarin to start the rush. From there, he drove straight to the net to position himself for a centering feed from Zibanejad. The shot missed just wide, but everything up to that point went the way Sullivan would have drawn it up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n (Shayna Goldman \/ The Athletic)<\/p>\n

Playing in the top six with skilled linemates is the best way to get Lafreni\u00e8re going at even strength, but the Rangers can further boost his confidence by increasing his power-play usage. Sullivan spoke about his desire to do just that during camp, but like his predecessor Peter Laviolette, the coach began the season with the familiar veteran-laden unit of Adam Fox, Miller, Panarin, Trocheck and Zibanejad.<\/p>\n

Trocheck\u2019s injury opened the door for a change, though, with Lafreni\u00e8re moving up to PP1 the last two and a half games and adding a left-handed shot to what had been a righty-heavy unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever the units are, we just gotta win games,\u201d Lafreni\u00e8re said diplomatically. But he admitted PP time helps him get a better feel for the puck, adding, \u201cObviously the more touches you get and the more involved you are, you feel more in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare for a No. 1 pick to go one season with sporadic looks on the top power-play unit, let alone five. Some would argue it\u2019s been a hindrance to his development, and they\u2019d have a point. But looking back won\u2019t do much good for Lafreni\u00e8re. With a new voice in Sullivan, plus a familiar one in former Rangers head coach and current assistant David Quinn, he has a chance to change the narrative.<\/p>\n

Frankly, the Rangers are counting on it.<\/p>\n