Three Trade Destinations for New York Rangers Forward Alexis Lafreniere

With salary cap space tight this summer, there are a lot of fans wondering what is going to happen with the team moving forward. With two restricted free agents open to an offer sheet at this moment, there are fans worried that they may see the Rangers lose young pieces off the roster for little to no value if the Blueshirts cannot sort out their salary cap shenanigans.

A lot of fans are wondering what is going to happen with former first-overall pick and incredible talent Alexis Lafreniere. Because of the scratching of the former QMJHL star, there have been rumors flying forever about his future in New York and how he could be on his way out. It’s been reported multiple times that the Rangers wish to retain Lafreniere, but why should we let a little sane asset management get in the way of some good ol’ speculation?

We’ve got very little in terms of news to discuss until the next head coach is announced in the coming days, so let’s focus on the players on the ice. Or in this case, the players could very well not be on the Madison Square Garden ice next year if the Rangers cannot figure out a way to make the money available to sign Alexis Lafreniere long-term when his contract expires on July 1st and he becomes a restricted free agent.

If you are new to hockey and don’t know why being a restricted free agent is a bad thing, or you just don’t like to pay attention in the summer, this opens the Rangers up to a potential offer sheet on one of their restricted free agents. This is when a different team signs the player, but the Rangers get 7 days to match. If a team did this to both K’Andre Miller and Alexis Lafreniere, the Rangers are unlikely to be able to match both offers.

There is compensation for the players in the form of picks, but the picks you’d get for either player would be late and not worth it. The last successful offer sheet in the NHL was done by the Carolina Hurricanes when they pried Jesperi Kotkaniemi away from the Montreal Canadiens, but it burned a lot of bridges when he left Quebec. If the Rangers want to avoid that fate they need to remove the threat of an offer sheet. One way to do that? Trade Lafreniere.

I am not saying moving Lafreniere is a good idea or even what I would like to see the Rangers do, but your player will not sign an offer sheet if they are not your player. It’s not an ideal fit because long-term, any move of the Quebecois winger will likely bite the Rangers in the rear end because of the pure talent he possesses, but the team may not have a choice at the end of the day.