The New York Rangers are hoping that the 2026-27 season will be much better than the previous two campaigns. The roster is set with some of the same faces on the roster, with new additions such as Pavel Dorofeyev, Marcus Pettersson, Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Sean Durzi. The hope is that this roster will show improvement.
Even though there are new faces, there is an expectation that some of their longtime players will also step up. One player that the team and the fans are hoping finally has a career year is former first-overall pick Alexis Lafrenière. Even though he has been in the league for six years already, he has yet to have a season where he posted at least 60 points. That is even after a promising 2025-26 season.
But if there was any time for Lafrenière to take that leap forward, it's this season.
Alexis Lafrenière is coming off of a promising 2025-26 season
Last season, Lafrenière got off to a slow start to his sixth year with the Rangers. In the month of October, Lafrenière put up just five points in 12 games, while also posting a minus-8 plus/minus rating. The next two months, Lafrenière put up 15 points in 30 games played. But things really turned around for Lafrenière once he returned from the Olympic break.
In March, Lafrenière was incredibly productive, posting 19 points (nine goals and 10 assists) in 16 games. Coincidentally, that took place when Lafrenière was part of a top line featuring Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault. This was a line that outscored their opponents 14-10. It was one of the bright spots of an overall awful season for the team.
On the year, Lafrenière put up 57 points (28 goals, 29 assists) in 82 game. That points total is tied with his 2023-24 campaign for most points scored in a season. While that is a positive, you'd expect him to at least have cracked the 60 point total this far into the season.
Alexis Lafrenière has perfect chance to have career year with revamped Rangers roster
If there was any season for Lafrenière to increase his production, it's this one.
Heading into training camp, there was debate as to whether or not head coach Mike Sullivan would throw Dorofeyev on the top line and send one of Lafrenière or Perreault to the second line. Yet, at the start of training camp, the top line of Lafrenière, Zibanejad, and Perreault remained intact, and did so for the entirety of the preseason when all three were active. Sullivan said that he didn't want to stray away from this trio because of the chemistry they built last season.
Considering the top line from late last season will continue to stick together, it is likely they can be even more productive. In that case, Lafrenière should see his points total increase. It certainly helps with Zibanejad's playmaking ability, and Perreault expecting to take a leap in his second year on the pro roster.
Let's not forget that Lafrenière is set to be on the top power play unit that already boasts Adam Fox, J.T. Miller, and Zibanejad. Now, they are adding Dorofeyev to the mix, who has already showed off his ridiculous shooting power iin the preseason. With Dorofeyev expected to be their top scorer, that could also increase Lafrenière's points total if he does manage to set him up with the extra skater advantage.
If Lafrenière finally has a career season, the Rangers could very well have the best bargain contract in the NHL. After all, Lafrenière has just a $7.45 million cap hit annually over the next six seasons.
Add us as a preferred source on Google