Alexis Lafreniere is back in the spotlight for the Rangers, and this season is shaping up as a real test of whether last year’s surge was the start of something bigger.
He turns 25 in 10 days and is already entering his seventh season with New York, which sounds wild on its own. The 2020 No. 1 overall pick has flashed enough to keep the hope alive, but the full breakout still hasn’t arrived. Even after finishing at a point-per-game pace over the final 28 games of the 2026-26 season, he remains one of the biggest questions on the roster as this year begins.
The number that keeps hanging over him is 57. Lafreniere has never topped that mark in a season, though he matched it a year ago after first getting there in 2023-24. That’s why the strong finish he put together last season has carried so much weight around the team.
The late push came with Mika Zibanejad and Gabe Perreault on his line, and that stretch has plenty of people around the Rangers wondering if Lafreniere is finally ready to become a true top-line wing.
“You’d like to capture that momentum. If he can build on the momentum he generated the second half of the year, I thought ‘Laf,’ his game grew to another level,” coach Mike Sullivan said Wednesday.
Sullivan pointed to the details that started showing up in Lafreniere’s game down the stretch.
“His ability to create offense different ways, it wasn’t just off the rush, he had a really good grind game,” Sullivan explained. “If I’m not mistaken, he led the League in deflection goals the second half of the year, he had six of them.
Getting inside, playing down low. He’s strong, he’s hockey strong.
He’s a lean guy, but he’s hockey strong on the puck. And he’s got great puck skills.”
The Rangers need that kind of production to keep coming from somewhere. They dealt away Artemi Panarin in February and Vincent Trocheck in July, and they finished 23rd in scoring last season. Even with Pavel Dorofeyev now in the mix as a legitimate finisher, New York needs more offense across the lineup.
That helps explain why Sullivan kept Lafreniere, Zibanejad and Perreault together through a shorter camp and preseason. It was the combination that worked late last season, so the coach stuck with it.
The opener Tuesday didn’t give the group much to build on. The Rangers were blanked 3-0 by the Boston Bruins, and the Zibanejad line posted a 39.99 percent expected goal share at 5v5, according to Natural Stat Trick. Lafreniere didn’t record a shot on goal in 22 shifts and 18:17 of ice time.
Still, it was one game, not a verdict.
“That line had pretty good chemistry [last season],” Sullivan said. “We’re trying to help them recapture some of that. I don’t think they’re there yet, but it’s a work in progress.”
The next chance comes Thursday, when the Rangers host the Tampa Bay Lightning in their home opener.
Safe to say Sullivan isn’t interested in entertaining any early talk that Madison Square Garden could become a problem spot for this team again.
Elsewhere around the Rangers, prospect Liam Greentree is “living the dream” as he prepares for his professional debut with Hartford of the AHL this weekend. Brennan Othmann also earned his first NHL opening-night roster spot with the Calgary Flames, helped along by a new layer of confidence and a “gritty rat style” of play. And if you’re looking to buy into the Rangers - or the Knicks - John Kreiser explained how that could happen soon, though it would take a lot more than pocket change.
Around the league, Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in Colorado’s 8-4 season-opening win over the Los Angeles Kings, then surprised plenty of people by dropping the gloves and fighting Brandt Clarke late in the third period.
The Islanders opened with a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, a game Ethan Sears said exposed a concerning flaw for Long Island’s team.
The Devils are drawing up six bold predictions for 2026-27, and James Nichols and Daniel Amoia also looked at what could stop them.
The Penguins started with a 7-0 rout of the Flyers, and Dan Kingerski handed out report cards after the beatdown. On the other side, William James broke down a rough debut for Philadelphia.
Elsewhere, Jesse Granger examined William Karlsson’s two-year extension with the Vegas Golden Knights. Kevin Allen reported that Simon Edvinsson has returned to Sweden and is practicing with Frolunda of the SEL while he remains unsigned with the Red Wings.
Colorado also locked up coach Jared Bednar on a four-year extension, removing one more distraction for the defending 2023 Stanley Cup champions. And the Hurricanes placed third-string goalie Cayden Primeau on waivers, with plans to send him to the AHL if he clears.
In Other News...
Rangers Linked To Alexander Nikishin As Bigger Trade Questions Build
Alexander Nikishin has become one of the more interesting names to watch as the trade market starts to take shape around the league, and the Rangers were in the picture once before. Reports say a deal involving Nikishin and New York was explored around the 2026 NHL draft, though it never came together, leaving the defenseman still in Carolina and still looking like a player with a clear market.
The intrigue is only growing now because Nikishin is said to want a change of scenery for more ice time and responsibility, while the Hurricanes have also been working through bigger roster questions of their own. One recent thread has them considering how to use acquired assets in a possible move with the Winnipeg Jets for Connor Hellebuyck, which only adds to the sense that Nikishin could end up part of a much larger shuffle if the right deal emerges. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Need A Different Madison Square Garden This Time
Mike Sullivan did not spend much time looking backward when the Rangers opened the conversation around their home-ice issues from last season. He framed it as a reset, with a new season and a new group, while Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad both sounded optimistic about the clubs chances to defend Madison Square Garden more effectively this time around.
The timing matters, too, because the Rangers do not get much of a warm-up before the home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. With a busy early schedule ahead, New York is hoping that a better start in its own building can help establish some momentum quickly, especially after a year in which the Garden was too often an advantage in name only. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Already Have An Opening Week Goalie Concern
Opening week has already brought a wrinkle in the Rangers crease. Joonas Korpisalo was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and the team has turned to Dylan Garand by recalling him from AHL Hartford. With Igor Shesterkin lined up for the home opener, the immediate burden still sits with the starter, but the depth chart behind him has changed quickly before the season has even settled in.
What makes this more notable is how little clarity there is around the injury itself. Korpisalo has not played this season, and the Rangers have not said how the issue first surfaced, leaving the club to manage a situation that is now being viewed on a week-to-week timeline. Garands call-up at least gives New York another option in the short term, with the schedule moving fast enough that the next crease decision could arrive sooner than expected. [Read more 🡒]