Alexis Lafrenière has been in this spot before, where a promising surge in production followed him into the offseason.
In 2024, he emerged as the star of the Rangers’ run to the Eastern Conference final, stringing together eight goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games.
Then, he recorded 33 points across the final 35 games last year.
But two years ago, after Lafrenière followed his postseason burst with eight points in eight games to earn a seven-year extension, his presence took a step back again. His spark was mostly extinguished. He went back to becoming the Lafrenière of old, where he was just the latest high draft pick of the Rangers — No. 1 overall in 2020 — to fall short of lofty expectations, until the end of last season offered him another window for rewriting his Blueshirts legacy.
