Alexis Lafrenière saw a tale of two seasons unfold before his very eyes, the first 60% of the season saw him mainly by the side of Artemi Panarin where his point production was just over a half point per game; but during the last 40% of the Rangers season, they witnessed the 2020 first overall pick blossom into what he showed during 2024.
Expectations
After coming off a disappointing 2023-24 season which saw his overall play tail off, this was seen as a make or break year for Lafrenière under new head coach Mike Sullivan. Entering the first year of his 7-year, $52.15 contract, Lafrenière had to show under coach Sullivan and Chris Drury he was in fact the player they thought they were paying for when it looked like he arrived in March 2024 - October 2024.
Coming off a discouraging 45 points in 82 games (28 points in the teams last 60 games), he needed to rediscover the consistency and high-level of play that first earned him the early contract extension in the first place. Expectation under new coach Mike Sullivan would be that Lafrenière should reach the 20-goal mark once again and rebound to at a minimum of 50-points for the Rangers.
Performance
After the Ranger's first 52 games, Lafrenière had a modest 29 points in 53 games played, which would put him at a 44-point pace during a full 82-game season. Lafrenière also led all Rangers forwards in his expected goal share (xGF%) and xGF/60 (expected goals for per sixty); it felt like a copy and paste of last season where he was showing signs of great play with the underlying metrics backing it up but the points just weren't somewhere you'd like for someone counting for $7.15M against the cap currently.
But then something changed following the Olympics break; Artemi Panarin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and it felt like a complete reset happened for Lafrenière. Post-Olympics, Lafrenière was a point per game player with 25 points in 25 games, trailing just Mika Zibanejad (and tied-second with Adam Fox) for the team lead in points and leading the team in goals with 12. A big part of this was his new found spot on the top power play unit for the team where Lafrenière would score a team-leading six power play goals. A bonus to add is that Lafrenière was the Rangers forward in giving up chances against where his xGA/60 (expected goals against per sixty) was the best among all forwards to play at least 30 games this season.
LAFFY DEFLECTS IT IN 👏 pic.twitter.com/CcFGPkvAzE
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 8, 2026
2025-26 Grade: B+
Where do they go from here?
For Lafrenière it's simple, show next season that he can consistently be a first-line producer for the team. He finally has the power play opportunity for the first time in his career, now it is time to avoid a mess like the 2024-25 season and become not only a valuable point producer, but also a leader in a group that will see many young players come into the lineup. If the now seventh year pro can prove he is one of the top players in the league, the Rangers new retool gets a whole lot simpler with him and Gabe Perreault as what looks to be locks at Top-6 wing for the immediate present and future.
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