Are we finally getting the Laf who was promised?

When the Rangers selected Alexis Lafreniere #1 overall in 2020, it was seen as a launching point for a franchise in a rebuild. With top-two picks in two straight years to go with the established elite talent and a top farm system, the team was ready to transition from rebuild to contention, at least in the eyes of ownership. Lafreniere was at the heart of that transition, expected to be a top line producer.

Through three seasons, Lafreniere has underwhelmed, with rumblings of off-ice training and skating being at the center of many fans’ displeasure. The Laf who was promised may have been putting up good 5v5 numbers, but he wasn’t improving and he wasn’t getting more ice time. Under Peter Laviolette, the Rangers may finally be getting the Laf who was promised in 2020, and it makes the Rangers very dangerous.

Yes, Laf is being compared to Jon Snow. I like the Rangers and I like Game of Thrones, as you can see.

Who is the Laf who was promised?

The Laf who was promised was supposed to jump into the top-six immediately, be put in a position to succeed, and put up numbers expected of a #1 overall pick. He was never going to be Connor McDavid, but expecting something like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins wasn’t necessarily unfair.

Lafreniere was the clear cut #1 pick in 2020. He had all the skills to be the #1 pick, plus the production to match it. Since he wasn’t McDavid or Matthews, he wasn’t a perfect or complete player. This was evident with his skating and play away from the puck, two pieces of his game Suit highlighted as needing work as recently as last year.

Even if Laf was destined for the third line and PP2 time upon arrival in New York, the expectation was growth into a top-six role and significant powerplay time. Naturally, PP1 was pretty much set and was one of the best powerplay units in the game. Unfortunately, he never grew into that role under Gerard Gallant.

Instead, Laf was bounced around the lineup and unable to hold a top-six spot on either wing. The Laf who was promised, a top six winger on the top powerplay hopefully putting up 50-60 points, was not the Laf we received. But that seems to be changing with another new coach and perhaps some personal growth.

This is a good path forward for Lafreniere

We all know what happened in his first three seasons on the Rangers. Laf never locked down a spot in the top six. The powerplay was too good to mess with. Skating issues and play away from the puck were starting to come into focus, as was a potential rumor/concern about off-ice work ethic.

Now with Peter Laviolette at the helm, a coach who seems to understand the younger mindset, the Laf who was promised seems to be coming into his own. There is no single person to absorb 100% of the blame for Laf’s slow start, and there’s no real point in harping on the many different “why’s.” All we can do as fans is look forward and hope.

There is good reason to hope that Lafreniere finally figures it out. Assuming what Laviolette said isn’t coach speak, then the Rangers may have finally found a voice that not only knows how to get through to Laf, but a tactical coach who can address the issues in his game with structure and *gasp* actual coaching.

Perhaps this is all hyperbole over one week of training camp, one preseason game, and one quote from Laviolette. Perhaps not. What we all know is this is likely Laf’s last chance with the Rangers to become that top-six player. It seems to be going well right now. We haven’t seen these kinds of quote or this kind of play –even if it’s preseason– from Laf on a consistent basis.

If the Rangers are finally getting the Laf that was promised, then the Rangers are much more dangerous than many give them credit.