Why trading Lafrenière could happen

The New York Rangers were the recipients of the largesse of Lady Luck when they won the NHL Draft Lottery in 2020.   They were gifted the top pick in the draft, a can’t miss prospect by the name of Alexis Lafrenière.   We know all about his amazing career in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the CHL Player of the Year awards and the World Junior Championships MVP honor.  He was the consensus number one pick and the superstar top pick the Rangers had never had.

There was only one problem.  It was the position that he plays.   Alexis Lafrenière is a left winger and of all of the positions on the team, it was the worst possible position for him to play.  With Artemi Panarin signed through 2026 and Chris Kreider signed through 2027 the left wing position on the top two lines were already set for the next half decade.

If Lafrenière plays any other position the Rangers would easily be able to slide him into a key position on the team whether it be at right wing, center or on defense. Instead, he has been a third or fourth winger or has been moved to the off wing, an experiment that has not worked.

He has been a disappointment with 20 goals and 32 points in 97 games, not awful numbers for a teenager, but  below the expectations of  first overall pick. It’s not a disaster and hockey observers still believe that he will develop in to a solid top six player if not a star in the NHL.  He has good hands, gets his shots on net and can be a physical presence.

He can rise to the occasion as he did in his first game in his hometown of Montreal in October, when he scored the game winning third period goal in front of his family and friends.

He did it again when he scored in the shootout against Los Angeles, challenged by the goal scored by Quinton Byfield, the second overall pick in the same draft.

The Rangers have not, and would be foolish to give up on him.  He’s still learning and growing and has shown enough to keep the “bust” label away.   But there is one problem looming.