What a weird year for Alexis Lafreniere. A hot start earned him a massive contract extension, but then the locker room issues and overall team morale impacted his game. There’s a lot of displeasure with Lafreniere’s game, especially since he broke out the season prior. But how much of that is Laf’s fault? He wasn’t part of the leadership core, so how can that be a part of our Alexis Lafreniere report card grade? It’s a tough situation for most Rangers, especially for the kids that were thrust into the middle of whatever last season was.
Lafreniere finished the season with 17 goals an 45 points, which is a bit of a disappointment from his 28 goal, 57 point season the year before. Almost all of his production was at 5v5, save for 2 goals and 2 assists, so while the raw stat line is mediocre at best, the context truly matters. Lafreniere simply hasn’t received any consistent powerplay time, and it’s significantly impacting his raw stat lines.
To drive the matter home, Lafreniere was second on the Rangers in 5v5 points with 40, third on the team in 5v5 goals with 15, and third on the team in 5v5 assists with 25. He also led the team with 18 primary assists at 5v5, all per Natural Stat Trick. Suffice it to say, Lafreniere’s powerplay time is the issue with his raw stat line, something that will likely change under Mike Sullivan.
Expanding this further, Lafreniere’s offensive numbers were borderline great last season. He drove diverse offense, was one of the top zone entry players on the team, and was surprisingly solid with getting the puck out of the defensive zone. But like every other Ranger on the roster, Lafreniere struggled with quality chances against. The entire team did. But that also isn’t his strength, nor is it his role.
The real knock on Lafreniere’s season is the 13 game goalless streak from December 9 to January 5, his one goal in 21 games stretching from November 23 through January 5, his additional 14 game goalless streak from February 5 through March 13, and his 4 total goals during the months of February, March, and April. Most of his production came early in the season.
It’s tough to put all that on Lafreniere since he’s just 23 years old, was not a locker room leader, and those in the locker room that were there to lead simply crumbled under the pressure. He needs to own his subpar play from basically Thanksgiving through the rest of the season, but there’s a solid chance this was a blip and not the norm.
Lafreniere’s 5v5 production is top notch. His stat line is as good as it can be without powerplay time. He didn’t help the locker room issues but it doesn’t seem like he was one of the causes either. There are still lingering concerns over skating and work ethic, but a new coach and a fresh start for the whole team could be just want the doctor ordered.
2024-2025 Alexis Lafreniere report card grade: C+
More About:Players