John Jones-Imagn ImagesAfter New York Rangers president and general manager Chris Drury issued a letter outlining the team’s direction to retool the roster, all sorts of trade rumors have begun to surface.
Alexis Lafrenière has been the subject of some of these rumors, something we haven’t really seen throughout his six-year NHL career.
It’s easy to pile up on Lafrenière due to the failure to live up to his No. 1 overall status and seven-year, $52.15 million contract that he signed just last season.
However, it wouldn’t be the right decision to trade him as of right now.
There’s no doubt that Lafrenière’s 28 points in 52 games this season is certainly disappointing, and he’s struggled to capitalize on his expanded role, playing both on the top-six and heavy power-play minutes at certain points.
If the Rangers were to gauge the market for Lafrenière though, the team would likely generate minimal value based on Lafrenière’s recent play.
Trading Lafrenière for pennies on the dollar doesn't make sense for a team looking to get younger.
At 24 years old, he may not reach the generational expectations that were placed upon him before being drafted in 2021, but that doesn't mean he can’t be an impactful player for the Blueshirts down the road.
Throughout Lafrenière's entire NHL tenure, the Rangers have maintained a competitive mindset, with the team’s sights set on the playoffs. This isn’t an ideal environment for a young player to develop properly and learn from mistakes.
With the Rangers set to embark on a retool and essentially punting on the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign, for the Rangers organization to truly focus their attention on Lafrenière's development and put him in situations where he could thrive, utilizing his skillsets to the best of his abilities.
At worst, you have a middle-six forward on your hands with a cap hit of $7.45 million, which is inherently not all that bad given that the cap will increase over the next couple of years.
There are two sides to the coin: Lafrenière’s play continues to be disappointing, but the Rangers should hold on to him as they retool the roster with the hopes of salvaging his value and maybe even keeping a player who can contribute to the long-term success of the franchise.