NEW YORK — The story of Alexis Lafrenière’s contract is one of patience. The 23-year-old never averaged more than a point every other game in his first three NHL seasons. He had a career-low goal-scoring rate in 2022-23, his third season, and failed to score a single point in the playoffs. His trajectory looked far from what the Rangers hoped when drafting him No. 1 overall in 2020.
Then came 2023-24. After an offseason in which his trainer Stéphane Dubé said he “turned a corner,” his production took off. He scored 28 goals and 57 points, both career highs, and broke into the New York Rangers’ top-six forward group. Perhaps most importantly, the playoffs brought out the best in him — a far cry from a year earlier. He tied for the team lead with eight goals, helping New York reach its second conference final in three years. His confidence grew, he said. Results followed.
“He didn’t really hit the ground running like he probably wanted. I think it’s even more awesome to see a guy who found his way,” said Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome, who spent two years as Lafrenière’s teammate. “Now he’s a premier player like everyone thought he was going to be.”
As of Friday, he’s paid like one. Rangers general manager Chris Drury signed Lafrenière, who would’ve been a restricted free agent this coming summer, to a seven-year extension with a $7.45 million average annual value.
“I’ve grown to be really close with him over the last few years, so (I am) really excited for him and am obviously very proud to see what he’s growing into,” linemate Vincent Trocheck said. “I personally think he’s doing good by the Rangers, too.”
As Trocheck implied, Lafrenière might have gotten more money by letting his situation play out longer. He already has four goals and eight points in eight games this season. His scoring numbers could continue to go up in the coming years, considering almost all of his career production comes at even strength. Had Lafrenière’s camp insisted on a shorter deal, he might have landed a larger extension down the road.
“I would assume it will be a pretty good deal (for the Rangers), as long as he progresses like he has of late,” said one league executive, speaking anonymously to discuss a player not on his own team. “It will probably be a really good contract.”
Drury will be happy with any good contract he can get, especially with superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin set to hit unrestricted free agency after this season. Shesterkin has already turned down an extension offer that would have made him the highest-paid goalie in league history, so the Rangers will need to budget a large amount of space to keep him.
Lafrenière said he didn’t think about a shorter-term contract during his negotiations, even if it could have led to a larger deal under a higher salary cap. There were different options on the table, but he and his representatives liked the seven-year contract. He gets to stay in New York for the long term, and he will still hit unrestricted free agency at 30 years old. Plus he gets a large chunk of money up front. The contract comes with an $8 million signing bonus in the first year, according to PuckPedia.
Lafrenière’s contract is in line with other players in his draft class who signed long-term extensions. Detroit’s Lucas Raymond (eight years, $8.075 million average annual value) and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis (eight years, $7.4 million AAV) each signed as restricted free agents over the summer. Both have had more goals and points than Lafrenière in an individual season, but they have also benefited from more power-play opportunities. Tim Stützle, by far the leading point-getter in the 2020 draft class, signed an eight-year, $8.35 million extension in September 2022. He’ll become a free agent at age 29, a year before Lafrenière.
Lafrenière’s even-strength production is perhaps the biggest reason the deal could age well for New York. He had only six power-play points in 2023-24, and he has none so far this year.
Alexis Lafrenière celebrates an even-strength goal against the Leafs. Nearly all of his production comes at five-on-five. (Nick Turchiaro / Imagn Images)
“The five-on-five stuff, that’s massive,” the league executive said. “There are a lot of guys that get their cookies on the power play. You get extra points, more or less, but when you have a guy his size and ability who produces at five-on-five, that’s a pretty valuable hockey player.”
“He’s just so good five-on-five because of how he’s always moving, he’s finding open areas, he’s not stationary in one spot,” Trocheck added. “He’s always thinking what (he) can do, where (he) can be to get an opportunity.”
The Rangers have one of the best primary power-play units in the league, so coach Peter Laviolette hasn’t had reason to shake up the grouping by adding in Lafrenière. If the blossoming forward gets that opportunity at some point, his numbers could skyrocket. Trocheck believes he can be a 100-point player in his career, as well as someone who can score 30 or more goals.
“I wouldn’t put a cap on it because I feel like there’s so much that he’s capable of,” he said.
Laviolette, who became head coach ahead of the 2023-24 season, has helped unlock some of Lafrenière’s potential by playing him with Trocheck and star winger Artemi Panarin. That trio played the most five-on-five minutes (863) and had the most five-on-five goals (54) of any line combination in the NHL last season. Laviolette doesn’t believe the production comes solely from Panarin carrying the line. He says all three forwards lift each other.
When discussing Lafrenière’s extension, Ducks forward Frank Vatrano reflected on his time with the Rangers in 2022. Lafrenière was played on the third line during New York’s run to the Eastern Conference final, and Vatrano gives him credit for maintaining a strong work ethic and finding ways to be difficult to play against.
“Sometimes guys don’t want to play that role early in their career,” he said. “It’s nice to see a guy who kind of earned it like that and kind of worked his way up.”
The Rangers hosted the Ducks the day after Lafrenière signed his extension. Strome praised his former teammate’s character before the game, then added with a laugh, “Hopefully he doesn’t have his best tonight.”
Unfortunately for the Ducks, Lafrenière picked up a primary assist on a go-ahead third-period goal and the Rangers controlled play throughout the night with him on the ice. At this point, that’s what New York has come to expect.
(Top photo: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
