Alexis Lafrenière’s redemption quest could define the Rangers’ future

Alexis Lafrenière will enter the 2025-26 season with redemption on his mind after a nightmare 2024-25 campaign. How he responds could go a long way in defining the immediate future of the New York Rangers.

In many ways, Lafrenière is a perfect bellwether for the team’s direction — one of the few prominent players who could realistically be traded. He likely knows that, and it may drive him to finally deliver on his No. 1 overall draft pick promise.

The Rangers don’t want to move Lafrenière, but nearly every other top player with a significant cap hit has contract clauses that offer protection. President and General Manager Chris Drury’s offseason moves scream “win now,” and Lafrenière has a major opportunity to be at the heart of it.

The Rangers' top pick from 2020 ended the 2023-24 season on a high note with 28 goals, 29 assists, and 57 points in the regular season, and he followed that up with a line of 8-6-14 in 16 games averaging just 16:41 per night.

It appeared that the good vibes would continue into 2024-25, and he tallied eight points in nine games in October, and 17 points in his first 23 games when you include November.

But as we all know by now he looked like a completely different player after he secured a seven-year contract extension that pays him $7.45 million a year starting with the season to come, and he will now have the pressure of playing under that agreement. December, February and April were the three worst months for the Rangers' young winger, and if we write off December given the drama that went on when Drury's memo about trying to trade Chris Kreider and others was made public, that leaves us with February, and April games in which the team was all but officially eliminated.

This isn't to excuse Lafrenière in any way because he should be held accountable, but it establishes some perspective and it makes picturing a road to redemption a lot easier. One of the easiest ways Lafrenière can get back on the right track is being more assertive and aggressive. The 2021-22 season was his first full campaign and he finished with 110 shots on goal.

The following season he increased that to 135, and his breakout year saw him take 217 shots. His most recent season saw him hit the net 153 times which explains why he scored 11 fewer goals than the year prior. He was able to main his assist rate, but Lafrenière is a talented shooter who can be deceptive with his release when he's playing with confidence, but that wasn't part of his game enough in 2024-25.

It has to be frustrating for the Rangers front office to see Lafreniere be as inconsistent as he's been, because they've been dying to have a talented young player in their ranks for years. Historically the Rangers have been a team built through high profile free agent signings and blockbuster trades, but they seemingly found fortune when they ended up picking No. 2 overall in 2019, and No. 1 overall in 2020. Kaapo Kakko didn't pan out as expected and is now in Seattle.

Lafrenière, a player who was a two-time Michel Brière Trophy winner as the QMJHL Most Valuable Player, a two-time CHL Player of the Year, the CHL and QMJHL rookie of the year, a two-time QMJHL first team All-Star, and a U20 WJC champion, best forward, and tournament MVP prior to being drafted hasn't lived up the hype or enjoyed the success his fellow No. 1 overall counterparts have. That is something that probably eats away at Lafrenière, because when you experience success early on it's a feeling you want to have more of. The hiring of Mike Sullivan, a proven winner who has impacted young players, could be what Lafrenière needs to get to the next level.

When you look at the current roster of players, there are very few names who you can count on to be top-tier contributors three to five years from now. Adam Fox can be counted on defensively. Igor Shesterkin should still be one of the best goaltenders in the world. At forward there's hope some of the kids will be able to step up, but the player with the most hope and potential is Lafrenière.

Lafreniere will turn 24 in October, and although he's older now and has 380 games of regular season experience, his future is still very much up in the air. At one point in time he was looked at as a player who could potentially be a point per game or better forward, and at this point most fans would love to see 70 or more.

If the Rangers want to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, they are going to need the collective group to be much better, but they will need specific players to lead the way. Lafrenière is one of those players, and for a team that still doesn't have a captain, part of me wonders if they want to see if he can get back on track, take a step forward this season, and then leave the door open for him to assume a leadership role down the line.

Lafrenière said back in February, "I started off well, and then lately, I haven't liked my game as much. I’m not making that many plays, but I feel like just the game in general, I'd like to be better and be more involved. {...} I can be a lot better, personally, Everywhere – defensively, offensively, all over the ice." He clearly knows what needs to happen, and he's had a long offseason to rest, reset, and reflect on what he wanted to improve upon for the upcoming season.

In many ways it feels like as goes Lafrenière so too will the Rangers because while there are other players with talent who can have an impact, the only way they will be truly better is if players like him take that next leap. The 2025-26 season will offer a fresh slate, and there's an opportunity for redemption in which he can be a main catalyst for positive change that gets the team back where they want to be.