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3 Potential Trade Destinations for Alexis Lafreniere

By Conor Power

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 05: Alexis Lafreniere #13 of the New York Rangers skates against the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on December 05, 2022 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Blues 6-4. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 05: Alexis Lafreniere #13 of the New York Rangers skates against the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on December 05, 2022 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Blues 6-4. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 16: Alexis Lafrenière #13 of the New York Rangers skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Centre Bell on October 16, 2021, in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 16: Alexis Lafrenière #13 of the New York Rangers skates against the Montreal Canadiens during the first period at Centre Bell on October 16, 2021, in Montreal, Canada. The New York Rangers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 3-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Les Canadiens Du Montreal

There is nowhere else to start than the local club of the player right? Lafreniere is a Quebec-born forward and it only makes sense that the team with a ton of interest is going to be the Montreal Canadiens. For the St-Eustache native, the French-speaking club is likely going to be the hockey team he watched and rooted for while he was growing up. Now that he is a man, he’s seen the error of his ways, but going back may still be of interest.

Not to mention, Montreal is in the depths of a rebuild. They need young players and with Lafreniere being just 20 years old, he fits the age bracket of the group the Habs are looking for. It also means that there is going to be some value waiting there for the Rangers to push for and try and get from under Ken Hughes. There is no doubt that there would be a lot of interest from the fan base at least.

If the Rangers could get one of the promising prospects like Kaiden Guhle or Juraj Slafkovsky out of the Canadiens in a package for Lafreniere, not only would it be highway robbery given Lafreniere’s current rebuild, but it could really help the Rangers in their current position get younger. Slafkovsky was the most recent first-overall pick (admittedly, probably a reach at that position) and Montreal has a ton of good prospects to help them not feel the loss as much.

This is unlikely given that Lafreniere’s value right now is going to be very low, but seeing that is likely the kind of player the Rangers are going to require in order to move the Canadian winger. There’s a special talent in Lafreniere and with how the Canadiens have recently gotten the most out of Cole Caufield, you have to think that Laffy could explode offensively in the Canadiens system.

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