When the New York Rangers acquired Pavel Dorofeyev from the Golden Knights over the off-season, it would have been easy for Alexis Lafreniere to question his place on the blue shirts' roster. However, Mike Sullivan quickly put an end to that, reportedly calling the young Rangers' player to reassure him.
"I said to Laf this summer when we traded for Pav, and he's a left shot, one of the first things I did was call Laf and assure him that my intention as the coach was not to take him off the powerplay," Sullivan said, "Number one because I think he was a deserving player based off the body of work he put together in the second half of the year."
Sullivan added that he thinks that being part of the powerplay was a helpful way for Lafrenière to grow and mature as a player.
It would have been easy for Sullivan to leave Lafrenière wondering. After all, there's been plenty written about the first overall pick's lack of production and inability to be a true breakout star, now in his sixth year in the league. However, it seems that Sullivan's faith in the young winger has worked, and will continue to pay off.
Lafrenière's 2025-26 season
After the Olympic break, Lafrenière looked like a brand-new player. His start to the season had been slow, only putting up 15 points in 30 games across the early months of the 2025-26 campaign. But after the Olympic break, things seemed to click.
Lafrenière had 19 points in 16 games through the month of March, and finished the season with 57 points, tying his career high in points and setting a career high in assists. As Sullivan said this week, a lot of that growth came from being on the powerplay and taking more responsibility.
It seems like last year's step forward is already continuing into the 2026-27 season.
Off to a hot start this season
The Rangers have already bounced back from a terrible year last season, opening the season 5-2-0. One of the reasons is Alexis Lafrenière, who has carried on his productive end to the season.
During training camp, Sullivan continued his praise for the young winger, saying, "He deserves a lot of credit for how hard he worked. I don't think it's a coincidence that his game performance followed. I'm watching him now in the first couple of days (of training camp)... It's inspiring from my standpoint to watch him."
Lafrenière has continued on from training camp to have a good start to the season, putting up four goals over two games, including a hat trick against the New York Islanders. Through seven games, he's averaging above a point-per-game level of production. He's easily been the best Rangers player not named Igor Shesterkin, and leads the team in points and goals.
Although Sullivan has switched up the powerplay lines in an effort to get some things going, he didn't go back on his word to keep Lafrenière on the power play. In fact, the Rangers coach has only had positive things to say about the winger, even when his stardom has been called into question.
While confidence from the coach isn't the only thing that can improve a player's game, it's clear that some of Sullivan's comments must be helping to build Lafrenière's own confidence and helping him carve out a strong start to the Rangers season. And with Shesterkin's injury, they are going to need it.
Add us as a preferred source on Google