New York Rangers sign Alexis Lafreniere to two-year contract

The New York Rangers have signed Alexis Lafreniere to a two-year contract, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The deal carries an AAV of $2.325 million.

As of right now, there are still nine RFAs who are not under contract for the 2023-24 season. They include Trevor Zegras (ANA), Shane Pinto (OTT), Tim Berni (CBJ), Jamie Drysdale (ANA), Egor Sokolov (OTT), Declan Chisholm (WPG), Morgan Frost (PHI), Calen Addison (MIN), and Jan Jenik (ARI). Along with Lafreniere, defenceman Evan Bouchard also took his name off the list when he signed a two-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers.

Lafreniere was a first overall pick of the Rangers in the 2020 NHL Draft when they got lucky in the draft lottery. He has played his entire ELC in the NHL but has failed thus far to reach anywhere near his potential. In the last three seasons, he has never scored more than 20 goals in a season or 40 points. In the 2022-23 season, he improved his point total to 39 in 81 games, along with 16 goals. He finished ninth on the Rangers in scoring this past season.

The Rangers seem to be comparing Lafreniere to recently signed Oilers centre Ryan McLeod. He signed a two-year deal at $2.1 million annually after a 23 point season in 57 games played. That puts McLeod on track for 33 points over an 82-game season. The extra $225k that Lafreniere will receive is for the six point lead he had on his RFA comparable this past season.

Over his three year NHL career, Lafreniere has scored 47 goals and 91 points in 216 games, along with 78 penalty minutes and a +5 rating. While he hasn’t reached his potential in the NHL yet, the former first overall pick would be a wise bet to have a breakout season in 2023-24.