The New York Rangers are no longer dealing with the Alexis Lafrenière they imagined when they took him first overall in 2020. That much is clear. What’s less clear - and what this story keeps circling back to - is whether the better move was to cash out earlier, before the conversation around him hardened into something much smaller than superstar expectations.
For a while, that debate was shaped by everything except pure hockey. Lafrenière’s early years were tangled up in the Covid-19 pandemic, and through the first three seasons of his entry-level deal, the Rangers spent plenty of time wondering if their top pick had fallen short. He had just one 40-point season in that span, and even getting him into the right lineup role was a constant puzzle.
The most logical point to move on from him may have been the final year of that entry-level contract. By then, it was obvious he wasn’t going to climb to the level of other first overall picks, but he was still young and trending upward.
That season brought career highs in points and assists, which meant his value was still there. A trade then - for depth help or picks - would have let the Rangers reset the whole conversation.
Instead, they kept him and gave him a two-year contract, and the same old questions came right back. Was he worth it?
Was he a bust? Then came a 57-point season, a real step forward even if it still lagged far behind what someone like Jack Hughes produced that year with 99 points.
Lafrenière’s output dipped again in 2024, but the Rangers still committed to him long term in the 2025-26 off-season.
That decision says a lot about where the Rangers seem to be now. They’ve stopped pretending he’s going to become Auston Matthews or Jack Hughes.
What’s left is a player who can help, and help a lot, if the expectations are trimmed to fit the reality. After another 50-plus-point season, Lafrenière still looks capable of being a useful piece.
The key is understanding what that piece actually is.
And if the Rangers ever do decide to move him, the market won’t be what it once was. The kind of return Lafrenière could have fetched earlier is probably gone.
At this stage, he’s a depth player. For the Rangers, that may be enough.
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