Alexis Lafreniere, for some unknown reason, has been given a very short leash by a vocal minority of Rangers fans, but it was the Lafreniere ice time saga that was a major player in his production this season. After his rough rookie season, he took several big steps forward this year with 19 goals and 12 assists in 79 games while getting almost no powerplay time. He excelled in the playoffs as part of the kid line, with 2-7-9 in 20 games, again with no powerplay time.
The Lafreniere ice time saga came up a lot this season, along with his linemates. Lafreniere was given a few games with the top line before being bounced around the lineup with many different linemates all season, much like Filip Chytil. Lafreniere received 976 minutes at 5v5 this past season, and the most ice time he got with one player was with Chytil at 394 minutes, not even half.
- Chytil: 394 minutes
- Mika Zibanejad: 297 minutes
- Barclay Goodrow; 295 minutes
- Chris Kreider: 274 minutes
- Julien Gauther: 197 minutes
- Ryan Strome: 143 minutes
Based on this, Lafreniere mostly played with Chytil-Goodrow on the third line, or bumped to the top line with Zibanejad and Kreider. Despite the bouncing around, Lafreniere was still second on the team in even strength goals (18) and 7th in even strength points (27). He trailed only Kreider in goals, and trailed the big-five and Jacob Trouba in points. Not bad for his sophomore season.
We also look to see improvement in Lafreniere’s game. The big improvement for Lafreniere this year was on the defensive side of the game, where he went from liability to at least breaking even. However this may have come at an offensive cost, given the wild swing in expected-goals-for. However that was an entire team problem, not just Lafreniere. No excuses, just looking deeper into numbers.
When we take a step back with Lafreniere and look at the whole picture, we see a kid who took a big step forward on the ice. He gained a lot of confidence toward the end of the season, and showed he can truly be a difference maker on a line. The Lafreniere ice time saga is expected to end, as he’s projected to get top line minutes next season and probably will replace Ryan Strome on PP1. We should see a “breakout year” from him if he does get that ice time.
Grade: B
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