Brooks Alexis Lafreniere's Finishing Touch Has Evaporated in Growing Rangers Problem

[BrooksBurner]

1 minute ago, siddious said:

Do this same stat with kakko now

 

4-0 with goals after the teams up 9-0 or something 

 

stats are confusing out of context 

 

All of Kakko's goals have come when he's shot the puck at the net

[Vodka Drunkenski]

Just now, BrooksBurner said:

 

All of Kakko's goals have come when he's shot the puck at the net

You forgot the word “empty”

[siddious]

4 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

All of Kakko's goals have come when he's shot the puck at the net

[The Dude]

14 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

 

All of Kakko's goals have come when he's shot the puck at the net

This can't be proven. 

[Br4d]

Laf's mind writes checks that his body can't cash.

 

I have no doubt that there's a good 2nd liner in there waiting to emerge and he's already a good 3rd liner.

 

That said, if the Rangers can find anybody who's willing to buy him as a future star we should sell hard on that.

[The Dude]

40 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Laf's mind writes checks that his body can't cash.

 

I have no doubt that there's a good 2nd liner in there waiting to emerge and he's already a good 3rd liner.

 

That said, if the Rangers can find anybody who's willing to buy him as a future star we should sell hard on that.

I don't get the Lafrenière hate. Kid has busted ass and is in good graces. That kid stays until he  starts playing lethargic and stops moving his feet.  He's in on everything,  he's battling,  he's not giving up on plays often and he's getting tons of chances. 

 

Somehow I've become team Lafrenière and could really give 2 shits about Kakko.  

 

I mean, unless someone offers something insane for Lafrenière.  I don't think that happens though. 

[Valriera]

20 minutes ago, The Dude said:

I don't get the Lafrenière hate. Kid has busted ass and is in good graces. That kid stays until he  starts playing lethargic and stops moving his feet.  He's in on everything,  he's battling,  he's not giving up on plays often and he's getting tons of chances. 

 

Somehow I've become team Lafrenière and could really give 2 shits about Kakko.  

 

I mean, unless someone offers something insane for Lafrenière.  I don't think that happens though. 

Me neither. I get the 1OA disappointment. Not enough to warrant the level of shit he takes given how hard he’s obviously worked this year. 

[Br4d]

I don't hate Laf at all.  I just recognize that his ceiling is not star level.  He's going to have to put in a *lot* of work to break through that ceiling and asking a 22 year old to do that is always iffy.  In fact if they aren't the originator of the idea it's really unlikely to happen.

 

The Rangers will have a good 2nd liner someday if they wait it out.

 

If somebody offers for him like he's a star they should take the money and run.

[BrooksBurner]

If he had a little luck at all he’s close to 20 goals at this juncture. I know. If ifs and buts were candy and nuts…blah blah blah.

 

He looks the part of a future quality 1st liner this year. In my view, the progression has been there year over year, but the jump taken this year has been larger. I’ve had some knocks on him for lackadaisical backchecking, but it’s correctable.

 

It’s not all sunshine though. I’m not going to sugarcoat it because I think he will get there. He’s 8th in 5v5 TOI among forwards, but 57th in 5v5 points with 23. On it’s face, it’s just not good enough to justify the ice time for win now when he doesn’t give you anything on defense. The only reason I’m good with it is because I don’t think this team is actually going anywhere this year and I want him to get the valuable time to develop into something good on offense.

[Br4d]

Laf needs to develop a better first step.  He also needs to have better control of himself on the opportunities in front of the net.  If he needs to lift the puck he's usually low. 

 

He has developed a strong tendency to miss the opportunities that come his way at the side of the net.

 

He also needs do better at protecting the puck when he has it on the rush up the right side.  To be fair he's on the right side for the first time this season but he is definitely not a solid puck carrier in traffic.

 

Then you get into the whole two-way player issue which best manifests itself in his minus 10.

 

My point on all of the above is that Laf has a lot to work on to become a good top 6 player.  Whether he puts in the work or not remains to be seen but he's going to have to fix all of the above to become a star and I think that is just an unreasonable lift given what we've seen from him so far.

Edited January 28 by Br4d
Maff and memory

[The Dude]

1 hour ago, Br4d said:

I don't hate Laf at all.  I just recognize that his ceiling is not star level.  He's going to have to put in a *lot* of work to break through that ceiling and asking a 22 year old to do that is always iffy.  In fact if they aren't the originator of the idea it's really unlikely to happen.

 

The Rangers will have a good 2nd liner someday if they wait it out.

 

If somebody offers for him like he's a star they should take the money and run.

He's a good 2nd liner now. I don't see much of a higher ceiling. Not expecting much more. Pucks will go in. The types of chances, where he is when he gets them and how he gets there are all significant upgrades from his prior years. 

 

He's missed golden opportunities,  but that happens. As long as he doesn't sulk, he's good in my book. 

 

I'm never going to expect superstar. Thats long gone. I just want hard working forward with skill as his background.  25 goals  25-35 assists, is fine with me. Just as long as it's with the effort he's putting forth now. 

 

Not a foundational player just yet. But not a throw away. 

 

I'll trade anybody that's not putting up 80+ points.  Save maybe Schneider. Saying "if someone offers the world for Lafreniere" is just as realistic as saying "if someone offers the world for Kakko "...  Of course you move them. But nobody is doing that.

 

If we know.  THEY know.  The best you can hope for is a team that thinks they can "fix" what has happened to these players.  I consider Lafreniere fixed already. This is pretty much it. 

 

Kakko is done.  I have no idea what he's worth. He's done absolutely nothing in this league. So sadly disappointed. There's nothing left of the player they supposedly drafted. A scoring forward turned defensive specialist, that oddly doesn't even kill penalties by age 22. WTF did they do to this kid? 

[Br4d]

Laf is not a good 2nd liner now.  He's a good 3rd liner who is getting a lot of minutes with Artemi Panarin opposite him.

 

He definitely has the possibility of stepping up to become a good 2nd liner but right now he is invisible on the scoresheet too often to meet than definition.

[phillyb]

When was Laf considered a finisher at the NHL level?

[Cash or Czech]

4 hours ago, The Dude said:

I don't get the Lafrenière hate. Kid has busted ass and is in good graces. That kid stays until he  starts playing lethargic and stops moving his feet.  He's in on everything,  he's battling,  he's not giving up on plays often and he's getting tons of chances. 

 

Somehow I've become team Lafrenière and could really give 2 shits about Kakko.  

 

I mean, unless someone offers something insane for Lafrenière.  I don't think that happens though. 

 

If Lafreniere's effort can convert The Dude into a believer, the kid must be doing something right. 

[Albatrosss]

11 hours ago, Br4d said:

Laf needs to develop a better first step.  He also needs to have better control of himself on the opportunities in front of the net.  If he needs to lift the puck he's usually low. 

 

He has developed a strong tendency to miss the opportunities that come his way at the side of the net.

 

He also needs do better at protecting the puck when he has it on the rush up the right side.  To be fair he's on the right side for the first time this season but he is definitely not a solid puck carrier in traffic.

 

Then you get into the whole two-way player issue which best manifests itself in his minus 10.

 

My point on all of the above is that Laf has a lot to work on to become a good top 6 player.  Whether he puts in the work or not remains to be seen but he's going to have to fix all of the above to become a star and I think that is just an unreasonable lift given what we've seen from him so far.

You’re so 2023. Laf is already a top 6 player. The amount of plays he creates and his positional offensive play is close to becoming elite. Its not there yet but we’ve seen good amount of flashes. 
or maybe you’re confusing him with Kakko?

[Br4d]

Laf has points in 22 out of 49 games.  That's not a top 6 player.

[Vodka Drunkenski]

1 hour ago, Br4d said:

Laf has points in 22 out of 49 games.  That's not a top 6 player.

Maybe more PP time moves that higher?  Just a guess

 

Just for reference, Trocheck has 4 more even strength points than Laf.  He averages 3:40 with the top PP unit while Laf averages 1:16 with Jonny Brodzinski.

Edited January 29 by Vodka Drunkenski

[Cash or Czech]

1 hour ago, Vodka Drunkenski said:

Maybe more PP time moves that higher?  Just a guess

 

Just for reference, Trocheck has 4 more even strength points than Laf.  He averages 3:40 with the top PP unit while Laf averages 1:16 with Jonny Brodzinski.

 

And since he entered the league in 2020-21 to now, Lafreniere is 3rd on the team with 54 EVG, and 5th on the team with 110 EVP. 

Edited January 29 by Cash or Czech

[RangersIn7]

10 hours ago, Albatrosss said:

You’re so 2023. Laf is already a top 6 player. The amount of plays he creates and his positional offensive play is close to becoming elite. Its not there yet but we’ve seen good amount of flashes. 
or maybe you’re confusing him with Kakko?

 

3 hours ago, Br4d said:

Laf has points in 22 out of 49 games.  That's not a top 6 player.

There’s more coming with him.

 

He won’t be at his best for likely another couple of seasons.

[Pete]

The words Lafreniere and "elite" don't belong in the same sentence.

[RangersIn7]

10 minutes ago, Pete said:

The words Lafreniere and "elite" don't belong in the same sentence.

Today that is true

[Br4d]

1 hour ago, Cash or Czech said:

 

And since he entered the league in 2020-21 to now, Lafreniere is 3rd on the team with 54 EVG, and 5th on the team with 110 EVP. 

 

This is true and it is a reflection of how ineffective the Rangers are at EVS over that span.

[Sharpshooter]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

The words Lafreniere and "elite" don't belong in the same sentence.

Lafreniere isn't elite. 

[RangersIn7]

2 minutes ago, Sharpshooter said:

Lafreniere isn't elite. 

Again… not today.

 

Lets see what a couple more years of tomorrow brings.

[Sharpshooter]

Just now, RangersIn7 said:

Again… not today.

 

Lets see what a couple more years of tomorrow brings.

I know. I was just being sarcastic with Pete's comment. lol

 

I don't think he will be elite, though, but I do think he'll wind up being very good. Perhaps a bust for a first overall, but very good for a first rounder. He's had some bad luck or else he'd have a lot more goals and production this season. I think it's coming, and he's only 22 years old. He wasn't put in a traditional rebuild situation as most first overall picks are. That hasn't helped either. Realistically he'd be getting more PP time, but it can be difficult playing on a team with Panarin and Mika.