There is a great joy and thrill in watching a youngster live up to their potential more and more every season. The New York Rangers Alexis Lafreniere‘s potential for the future is clear, not only in terms of the stats, but also in watching his passing, accurate shooting, and playmaking abilities improve more and more. The 2020 first overall pick signed for $52.15M over seven years last month, and his offensive performance this season so far shows it’s justified. How will Lafreniere play throughout the rest of this contract? It expires when he is 30, and he seems to be getting closer to his prime now. This season will be a great chance for him to reach his offensive potential alongside other first overall picks and offensive powerhouses like Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and Connor McDavid.
Rangers Alexis Lafreniere’s Potential for the Rest of This Season
Through his first four seasons in the NHL, 2020-21 to 2023-24, the now 23-year-old Alexis “Laffy” Lafrenieres offensive stats have improved more and more every year. Laffy, a Quebec native, notched 28 goals and 29 assists in 82 regular-season games last year. This is so far his NHL career high for all three offensive stats. But let’s look at the math and his potential for greater this year. In his 14 games this season, he has scored six goals and six assists to make 12 points in 14 games. At an 82-game pace, this would be approximately 70 points (35 goals & 35 assists). That would be Laffy‘s best offensive NHL season for sure, so let’s hope he stays healthy and keeps this pace up.
The Blueshirts were the leagues sixth-best team offensively last regular season with 282 goals scored. As of today, they stand in fifth with 3.71 goals-per-game. So, Lafreniere’s increasingly potent offence could help them rise up the ranks here. This would work in tandem with his linemate, star winger Artemi Panarin, who is red hot this year with 22 points (ten goals and 12 assists) in 14 games.
What Laffy‘s performance means for the Rangers so far this year is they could come on strong offensively and pull off wins against teams with excellent goaltending such as the Winnipeg Jets, Dallas Stars, and Florida Panthers.
Laffy’s Last Goal During Game Against Red Hot Winnipeg Jets
It was all youngsters who scored for the Blueshirts during Tuesday night’s loss to the blazing Jets (William Cuylle, Lafreniere, and Kaapo Kakko). In a historic win, the Jets notched the title for fastest team to 15 wins in league history. It’s tough the Blueshirts lost 6-3, even to the hottest team in the NHL by far. But let’s focus on Laffy individually.
We’ll begin analyzing the play with Panarin. When he received the puck, you had a triangle in the offensive zone of Panarin by the bottom corner of the rink, star blueliner Adam “Foxy” Fox closer to the blueline, and finally Laffy in the middle of the upper faceoff circle. This was a chance for a good set-up. When Panarin made the pass to Foxy, who was at the blueline by this point, Foxy had a couple different passing options. Star centreman Vincent Trocheck was by the slot, surrounded by Jets traffic. This pass could be intercepted.
So, the alternative would be the cross-ice pass to Laffy. Lafreniere had moved to his end of the blueline. He was closer to Foxy so he could receive it more easily. Not long after, Laffy sniped in the power play goal through Jets traffic. This was another testament to Laffy’s accurate shooting. Last regular season (2023-24), he had a 12.9 shooting percentage, in the league’s 75th percentile.
Recap and What This All Means for the Future
The craziest thing about all this is that Laffy is only 23 years old, and there is a long ladder for him to climb. Although the lineups vary, he remains on the top forward line alongside stars Panarin and centreman Mika Zibanejad. His last goal was assisted by one of those two (Panarin). So, it is clear the lineup chemistry is there, alongside Lafreniere’s individual performance.
Main Photo Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports
