The New York Rangers have been on fire to start the 2026-27 season. They have been great on home ice, are getting off to fast starts during the first periods of games, and they are getting contributions from players that fans have been yearning for over the last few years. This team is doing it all, and front and center among them is a player who is growing up right before our very eyes.
One of the players who has really flipped the script on his very much talked about career is Alexis Lafrenière. These last seven games have shown a completely different side of him, as the creativity with the puck and absolute offensive domination have given him the praise that he finally deserves.
He has earned the trust from his head coach, Mike Sullivan, and has become a fan-favorite once again with the Blueshirts faithful. Lafrenière is entering a new tier of the NHL's elite, and it couldn't come at a better time.
Lafrenière is no longer a bust
From the moment he was drafted, impossible expectations have been placed on Lafrenière. Future captain, deliverer of the next Stanley Cup, and all-time leading point-getter in Rangers history were slapped on him before he was able to throw that Blueshirts jersey on for the first time in that COVID era NHL draft of 2020.
To this point it has been seven long seasons of awaiting his true arrival on Broadway, with disappointment after disappointment tainting his image. Against the likes of Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, and Connor McDavid as first overall picks, he was the outlier that was labeled as a "bust".
Now, as he has five goals and three assists for eight points, he is leading this Rangers team through truly troubling times. Goaltender Igor Shesterkin is going to be out for the rest of the season, and now it is Dylan Garand expected to pick up the biggest shoes to fill of any team in the NHL. Lafrenière is going to have to keep this going all season and completely crush every career-high he has.
Keeping it going?
The thought of him keeping up this pace is still a bit worrisome in the minds of Rangers fans. Is this all a facade? Can he really have finally turned this corner? When will he slip back into being his old self?
All are good questions, but the answer remains the same. It is a bit too early to tell, but he is heading in the right direction by building upon his impressive end to the 2025-26 season. This is the first time we have seen Lafrenière get moved up and down the lineup due to playing well, as he was swapped with another struggling forward, Pavel Dorofeyev. The spark was created, as Tye Kartye was able to snipe Vancouver Canucks goaltender, Kevin Lankinen, not once but twice in their decisive 6-2 win.
Lafrenière has been stellar this season, and fans should rejoice in what they are witnessing out of him. He is finally becoming the star that he was meant to be, and he's doing it on a bargain contract that pays him just $7.45 million a year for the foreseeable future.
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