I found it amusing that almost nobody congratulated Florida. One, because they act like scumbags with no class after they win. Two, they were scumbags using the LTR which they will no longer be able to do. Of course the dumb bitch ESPN hired said it was jealousy. No. You never saw that when Tampa was winning cups. It also seems that there is little to no market for K. Shithead. Thus, he probably won't get an offer sheet and the Rangers can low ball him.
Laf scored 17 goals last year Chuck, 28 goals was 2 year ago when he was in his contract year. Alexi also had 63 less SOG this year, he will never play to the level of the best #1 overalls in hockey so he will never accrue that value. Alexi was so lazy this past year he couldn't even lift his helmet off his head during the anthem, Drury can't trade this hump and his $7.45 fast enough for me, can't rebuild on a soft foundation.
The debate is not whether or not Lafreniere took a step back this past season scoring only 17 goals down from 28 goals the prior season, CLEARLY, he did. The debate as I see it is do you sell low on him for pennies on the dollar, that is where I say no. It makes no sense to me dealing Lafreniere at a decreased value, I much rather hold and hope/expect him to rededicate himself and for Sullivan to get the best out of him. We can agree to disagree on that. We agree Lafreniere was not nearly as good this past season as he was the prior season, I am hopeful he'll be closer to the 2023-2024 version moving forward. I will add though, essentially every single player on the team took a step back this past season, so maybe there was a larger issue not specific to only Lafreniere, we'll see. BTW, if Drury traded Lafreniere for good value in a good trade for the Rangers, I'd be perfectly okay with that. My only "issue" would be trading him at a reduced value/return, that I wouldn't be a fan of.
If you hold onto Lafreniere and he goes on and have another poor season his value is only going to drop further. You can sell other GMs the idea this was just a poor season and that he will rebound based on what he showed the season prior, but if he has another poor season you can no longer sell that because now there’s a trend.
100% 31, I think his helmet protest may be a positive thing for Canadian teams too. Maybe with Sullivan 4th time is the charm, maybe Laf matures enough over this off season to train and come into camp in shape and flying around like it's his contract year again. I'd rather let motivating Alexi and his attitude be another team's problem and use the $7.45 to upgrade the defense and keep K'Andre
It feels like it just may be time for a change of scenery for both the Rangers and Lafreniere. Free up his space and start reshaping the team with some new guys and the youngsters.
I don't disagree, IF you can get good value for him go ahead and make a good trade. My point continues to be I wouldn't trade him for pennies on the dollar, that I don't think would be smart, you are better off hoping he'll return to the player he was in 2023-2024 and Sullivan can get the best out of him. He scored 28 goals and was maybe our best player in the playoffs in 2023-2024, so he has shown positive ability/talent. I think it would be a very poor decision to punt on him for anything less than a good return.
I'm not sure if it's all on Laf or mostly on the team but if we could see the future and see what his performance and numbers were like right up until this point, we end up trading back or picking someone else. I don't remember who else was in that draft but this kid has not lived up to that draft slot, not even close.
I agree with that also, outside of one season he has not had "# 1 overall pick" seasons. One other item of note with Lafreniere, just about every single player on the team had a worse and/or down season this past season, so it might have been more than just a Lafreniere problem. Look, I hope Drury can pull off a great trade with Lafreniere and he gets a very good return, I'm all for it. If he cannot though, I'd keep Lafreniere and see if he can be the player he was in 23-24.
Was it Laf or Vinny T that caused the other to have a down season...will we look back to both of them having a career year two years ago. And last year was their norm
The vets quit this season before it started. It's a main reason Cuylle IMO wants more money. He probably is sitting their saying to his agent. I played hard all year and these pussy vets get paid a ton and tanked it.
