1:37 p.m.: Lafrenière’s deal has a front-loaded structure that includes an $8MM signing bonus when the deal goes into effect next season, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. He’ll have a no-movement and a modified no-trade clause go into effect when he’s eligible for it beginning in 2027-28, he adds. PuckPedia has the full breakdown of the deal, adding it’s an eight-team no-trade list for the modified NTC:
2025-26: $2MM base salary, $8MM signing bonus
2026-27: $5.5MM base, $2MM SB
2027-28: $8.5MM base, $1MM SB
2028-29: $7.15MM base
2029-30: $6MM base
2030-31: $6MM base
2031-32: $6MM base
12:42 p.m.: The deal will come in at an actual AAV of $7.45MM, per PuckPedia. That’s a total value of $52.15MM.
11:54 a.m.: The Rangers are closing in on a seven-year extension with winger Alexis Lafrenière worth just under $7.6MM per season, sources tell Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier Friday that talks between the Rangers and the pending RFA had “intensified.”
That means the deal’s total value will be in the $50-53MM range. It’s a contract that would have been inconceivable for the 2020 first-overall pick less than two years ago, a clear demonstration of how much he’s improved since the beginning of last season.
Trade rumors swirled around Lafrenière after his third season in New York. During that time, he’d failed to average over half a point per game at any stage – not an acceptable performance from a first-overall forward, even that early into their career. However, a coaching change brought Peter Laviolette behind the Rangers bench, who got Lafrenière more ice time by shifting him to right-wing after years of sticking on his natural left side.
In essence, he’s been stapled on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, a pair with which he’s developed undeniable chemistry. Lafrenière played all 82 games in 2022-23, recording a career-high 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points while averaging over 17 minutes per night. The trio formed the Rangers’ best two-way line last season that suited up together on a regular basis, controlling 55.6% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.
The playoffs saw Lafrenière up his per-game production even further. While the President’s Trophy winners were bounced in the Eastern Conference Final by the eventual champion Panthers, Lafrenière tied Trocheck and Chris Kreider for the team lead in goals with eight and added six assists for 14 points in 16 games. He’s carried that momentum into 2024-25, lighting the lamp four times and adding three assists for seven points in seven games, still skating with Panarin and Trocheck and averaging nearly 18 minutes per game.
Lafrenière has now converted that production into a long-term commitment from the Blueshirts, who lock him up at an extremely affordable price through the 2031-32 campaign if he keeps up his recent offensive output. His deal will go into effect next season, keeping him from reaching restricted free agency for the second time in his career. The forward inked a two-year bridge deal worth a total of $4.65MM in August 2023, far less than what he’ll be making in a single season on his new contract.
He’ll be 30 when the deal expires – he turned 23 earlier this month. That allows him to cash in again on a long-term deal while being UFA eligible, although likely not as much as he could’ve garnered if he inked a five- or six-year extension with the Rangers. For New York, signing Lafrenière now likely provides a more affordable outcome than waiting until the end of the season, especially if he keeps up his point-per-game pace from the early going.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Lets take a moment to point out that those of us silly enough to read the comments section of the NY Post hockey coverage have over the years been subjected to many posts stating that he was a “bust”, “will never amount to anything”, “trade him for a bag of pucks”, etc..
Didn’t need to go to the NY Post for that. Plenty of the local babblers that infest this site have been doing it for years on him and many other players.
So true. People fail to realize they’re kids and the gap in age is large from where they are coming from. It’s an adjustment and some need time to adjust and learn. His comfort helped increase his confidence.
It’s not as bad. Average age of commenters here is 28. On the NY Post, its 15. Just kidding.
To be fair, it was far more news outlets & message boards than just the NYPost (awful tabloid rag that it is.) And he could certainly still be a bust, after all this is just a contract, not a performance guarantee.
I think we can all say there will be a raft of contracts that have been handed out in the afterglow of the cap increase that will age poorly. We just don’t know which ones… yet.
Well, he was drafted too high and his skating was an obvious flaw immediately…
But he definitely wasn’t given enough time to turn into something before people started calling him a bust. He’s turned into a fine player, if not someone worthy of #1 selection. And that’s OK too… any time you can get a cornerstone piece out of your first rounder, you’ve done well drafting that year.
“drafted too high” is the wrong way to put it because the jury is still out on that class… I meant that he immediately didn’t hit it out of the gate like players with his pedigree usually do.
But is there still room for a Shesterkin extension?
If they can move Trouba, definitely. Without that, not sure. I like Trouba, and don’t think he’s really overpriced, but I’d rather they keep Shesterkin and either promote from within, or sign another cheaper defender. Miller is going to need a big contract soon, too. Tough cap situation to keep this core together.
Trouba is in his walk year next year, as is Panarin, they really only need to navigate around that one season with Shesterkin, then $20 million comes off the books.
Next year will be the tight squeeze, but they have a solid group of prospects ready to step in and take on roles for cheap, they’ll get Igor done.
Reilly Smith and Ryan Lindgren will both be gone for sure.
Do you really think the BreadMan is going anywhere?
No, but he won’t be making anywhere near $11.7 million per on his next contract, that’s for sure. If he wants to stay in New York (he probably does) he will be taking a significant pay cut for his contract that starts at age 34.
Probably around $6 million per unless he is still tearing it up.
Lafreniere doesn’t even have to *improve* — if he can just maintain last year’s production on top of his proven ability as a two-way player, this is going to look pretty team-friendly over the course of the deal.