The truth that Alexis Lafreniere has not earned a top-six assignment through his work during training camp and his first three exhibition games is self-evident. One can argue that the lad from Saint-Eustache has not even earned a spot on the roster.
I, like Hall of Fame announcer Jack Buck when Kirk Gibson went deep against Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, cannot believe what I have seen. Granted the opportunity to nail down the first-line assignment on right wing, Lafreniere seems to be shrinking under the low wattage of the preseason.
It’s not that No. 13 — who will turn 22 the day before the Oct. 12 opener in Buffalo — hasn’t looked like a first-overall draft selection on the verge of a breakout season, it’s that for the most part Lafreniere has looked like an undrafted invitee to training camp on a tryout. Matt Rempe — a sixth-round pick in 2020 – made more of a positive impression before he was sent out to Hartford last weekend.
There is no logical explanation for this. It could not be more clear that the hierarchy and head coach Peter Laviolette want Lafreniere to succeed. They want him to nail down that top-six spot on Mika Zibanejad’s right. And if we are talking about truths that are self-evident, the Rangers need Lafreniere in that spot.
The ongoing absence of Filip Chytil with an unidentified upper-body injury that has prevented him from skating with the team since the fourth day of camp has created a significant issue. The Blueshirts had intended to give Chytil the opportunity to center the second line, likely with Artemi Panarin and Kaapo Kakko on his flanks.
That would have allowed the team to slide Vincent Trocheck into a hybrid third-line role, with Blake Wheeler on his right and perhaps Will Cuylle on the left. Not bad. Now, not, at least not for now. Absent Chytil, Trocheck is on the second line and Barclay Goodrow is centering the third line. That’s not ideal.
Without Chytil and Lafreniere, the Rangers would enter the season without two of their projected top-six pieces. That’s not ideal either for a team that is grasping for some sort of equilibrium, if not identity.
If Lafreniere is not there, that means that Wheeler would likely get the assignment. And that’s too much to ask of the 37-year-old who is also on the second power-play unit. Wheeler can certainly move up in the rotation for a short stretch, but the Blueshirts don’t want him up there on a permanent assignment. That’s a trickle-down effect.
I believe in running a team as a meritocracy. I believe in players earning their ice time and earning a power-play assignment. Of course, veterans build credit that should be honored, but only to an extent. No one should be given minutes because of the size of a paycheck or selection order in a draft.
Again. Lafreniere has not earned a top-six spot. He has seemed paralyzed. My best information is that the Rangers were pleased with his results on his testing on and off the ice. There is no indication that he was lazy over the summer. He had a decent first couple of days on the ice but it’s all been downhill since the first exhibition game in Boston on Sept. 24.
And do you know what I would do in response? I would break my rule. Before Thursday’s preseason finale at the Garden against the B’s, I would tell Lafreniere that he’s starting the season on right wing with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. I would tell Lafreniere to relax. I would tell him there is no reason for him to look over his shoulder.
And to go out and play.
For the most part, Lafreniere has hidden his frustration, he’s hidden his anger, he’s hidden his disappointment over the first three years of his career that for one reason or another — maybe 1,000 reasons — has not lived up to expectations.
Here he is, 2020’s prize of the lottery and prize of the draft, entering the first season of a two-year contract worth an annual average value of $2.325 million per while draft classmate Tim Stutzle (third overall) is on the first season of eight-year deal for an AAV of $8.35 million per and classmate Jake Sanderson (fifth overall) signed an eight-year extension for an AAV of $8.05 million per that kicks in next season.
Could that be part of the clutter in his mind that he brought into camp? I don’t know. What I do know with reasonable certainty is that he never asked out of New York during his past summer as a restricted free agent.
The Rangers need Lafreniere. They need him to produce in a top-six role. They most certainly do not need Lafreniere to become a migraine headache. They cannot have Lafreniere become the pink elephant in the room. dominating the discourse inside and outside the organization. .
They need Lafreniere to breathe.
Just breathe.
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