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New York Rangers Bottom Six Regular Season Review

By Conor Power

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 07: Julien Gauthier #12 of the New York Rangers (on ice) celebrates his second period goal against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on January 07, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images )
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 07: Julien Gauthier #12 of the New York Rangers (on ice) celebrates his second period goal against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center on January 07, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images ) /
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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 18: Alexis Lafrenière #13 of the New York Rangers during warm up prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 18, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 18: Alexis Lafrenière #13 of the New York Rangers during warm-up prior to the game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 18, 2023, at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /

Alexis Lafreniere

How do you define the season that was had by the 2020 1st overall pick? Alexis Lafreniere was both excellent and awful in equal proportions at times this season. Lafreniere has been so up and down throughout the season. He’ll go multiple games having almost no impact and even getting on the score sheet while not doing much else, and then he’ll have a game where he decides that he’s the best player on the ice.

Lafreniere finished this season with 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points. He’s not had the true breakout season in terms of production that everyone wants to see. We all want to see Lafreniere take that big step forward and decide that he is going to become the face of this Rangers franchise which he has the potential to do. We all want to see him get to be the best player he can be for this franchise.

When we move forward with Lafreniere, we get to see how the Rangers’ young forward adapts. He’s showing signs of breaking out. He’s shown flashes of his raw talent and if he can get some level of showing that consistently, he’s going to become one of the best players in the NHL for the foreseeable future. There’s no denying that he is one of the most talented youngsters on this roster, and he’s played a major part.

We all remember how important Lafreniere and his line were to the Blueshirts’ success last season, so it is of the utmost importance Laffy can continue his development this postseason. He needs to keep playing north-south hockey because that is when he is at his best. He gets a little distracted going east and west, so taking the direct approach is going to be the best course of action for him.

After being scratched in January, his future was up in the air. The organization still remains certain that they want him to stay with the Blueshirts for the foreseeable future, but we will see what happens with the pending RFA. Everything can change with a playoff run, so we will see how far the Rangers go and how big a part Lafreniere is of whatever the Rangers can accomplish past game 82.

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