2025 Rangers Report Card: Alexis Lafrenière

This post is part of an ongoing series of Rangers Report Cards, grading the performance of each member of the 2024-25 New York Rangers. To view more report cards in this series, go here.

Expectations

There have been, and will likely always be, lofty expectations for Alexis Lafrenière. That comes with the territory of being the number one overall pick. While the past two years have been trending upwards for the young winger, it’s safe to say he has not yet reached that expected ceiling, let alone the floor of what most pundits and fans anticipated he would bring.

The 2023-24 season was a significant step forward for Lafrenière. For the 2024-25 season to be considered successful for him, another substantial improvement w neascessary. Simply put, the Rangers needed him to boost his offensive contributions. For a player who flirted with 30 goals and 60 points the previous year, moving forward would mean surpassing those totals and establishing himself as a consistent 70-point player.

Performance

Right off the bat, let’s be clear that this year was not another step forward for Lafrenière. Every single one of his offensive stats took a step back. Consider, however, that almost every Ranger also took a step back this past season, as we’re all aware. It was a very underwhelming year for the organization overall. Scoring 17 goals and 28 assists, Lafrenière accumulated 12 fewer points than the previous year. Most of that gap comes from the 11 fewer goals he contributed, which is explained by having registered 64 fewer shots on goal and, even worse, a nearly two percentage points lower shooting percentage. Since this was all achieved while playing under the same coaching system, and with most of his minutes spent skating on the same line combination with Panarin and Trocheck, his dip in production can’t be attributed to the idea of a new environment and new teammates.

Overall, it has not been a confidence-boosting year for the Rangers’ coveted winger. To make matters worse, this season has felt particularly underwhelming due to the substantial contract extension he signed at the beginning of the year. After scoring seven points in seven games to start the year, starting the day after his contract extension was announced, he endured several cold streaks and only chipped in 37 points over 75 games the rest of the way. The Rangers locked him up for the long haul, hoping his growth as an impact player would continue, and with the cap increasing, his value would be a steal. Instead, the team has ended up with question marks and concerns about the long-term impact he might have. However, a couple of details may allow for some leniency in judging Lafreniere’s season.

First, his possession metrics at 5v5 may not have been as impressive as they were in the previous season, but they remained positive. Many believe Lafrenière’s initial increase in production was solely due to playing with elite playmaker Artemi Panarin. While skating alongside a player of Panarin's caliber can only be beneficial, Lafrenière skated effectively both with and without Panarin. In the two games without Panarin in 2024-25, Lafrenière recorded a 53.1 CF% and 60 CF% in each respective game. Although the Rangers struggled and lost both matches, Lafrenière stood out as a rare positive contributor. His decline in possession metrics from the previous season to this one can largely be attributed to the team’s general drop in performance, yet Lafrenière’s performance remained in the green. Given his draft position, the expectations and anticipated pedigree will always place Lafrenière more in the spotlight, attracting both positive and negative attention, and this year was predominantly negative.

Another positive in his game is his increase in physicality. Lafrenière always had a edge to his game, but this past year saw an increase of 46 documented hits while incurring two fewer penalty minutes throughout the year. He achieved all of this while averaging 16 seconds less ice time in each game, which doesn’t sound like much, but over the span of a full season adds up to over 21 minutes.

It may seem like we’re cherry-picking statistics to present a positive spin on the winger’s struggles, and this assumption wouldn’t be entirely incorrect. The truth is, many have focused on Lafrenière’s struggles. they’re well-documented, and we've even discuss them here. He underperformed and took a step back when the team was relying on him to make progress the most. Overall, it was disappointing, but the fact remains that he still scored 41 points at even strength and didn’t receive substantial power-play time. His average of 1:34 of power-play ice time is the highest of his career, but he ranks seventh on the team, typically placing him mainly on the second unit. This, combined with the team’s power-play effectiveness being the lowest in a decade, leads us to concentrate on his ability to contribute at even strength. If the team’s power play had performed even a few percentage points better than it did, Lafrenière might be looking at 5-10 more points, which could change how his season is viewed.

Grades

Author Grade: C
Banter Consensus: C

Final Evaluation

Lafrenière’s season was not good enough, especially considering his new contract. While the young winger still found ways to contribute, what he’s paid for and expected to do is help his team score goals. That was the expectation when the Rangers drafted the junior league phenom out of Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL. He needs to elevate his game and his ability to break through without using the team’s slump or the absence of linemates as an excuse.

The Rangers expect him to become a cornerstone of their franchise, and a sub-fifty-point winger making almost $8 million a year will never help them achieve their ultimate goal. That said, many small indicators suggest a potential bounce back for Lafrenière with a new coach and reset expectations for the organization. He must embrace those changes and indicators and become part of the team’s resolution and future.