Five Potential Trade Options For Alexis Lafrenière

The New York Rangers have drafted first overall only once in the history of the NHL draft.

If you want to get technical about it, the Rangers did draft first overall in the 1965 amateur draft where hey selected Andre Veilleux. But those circumstances were a bit (a lot) different. Veilleux would never play a game in the NHL and, according to the limited information that’s out there, he only played a year or two of minor league hockey.

As for the other first overall pick by the Rangers, Alexis Lafrenière was far and away the clear cut top prospect available in the 2020 NHL Draft. In back-to-back seasons with the Rimouski Océanic in the QMJHL, Lafrenière put up 100+ point seasons. For context, no one else in that draft class came close to that kind of consistent point production. Cole Perfetti and Marco Rossi both had one 100+ point season each, but that came as a drastic improvement from their prior season. Quintin Byfield, who went second overall, maxed out at 82 points. Tim Stützle (third overall) was in a different situation having already been in a professional league overseas, but had just 34 points there. And a similar concept applies to Lucas Raymond, who went fourth overall. 

So, before you even entertain the revisionist history game, the Rangers—or any team who had the first overall pick that year—was always going to take Lafrenière, no questions asked. 

Flash forward almost six years later, the Rangers are exactly where many fans feared they would be. At the end of a rushed rebuild-turned-short contention window, they now face many similar questions they were asking themselves during the time of the famous Letter in 2018. 

Now, Lafrenière is by no means an ineffective hockey player, but he clearly hasn’t reached his ceiling or found his place on this Rangers team. For a player who was drafted to be this dynamic offensive power house who can score goals as well as he can make plays, his career high sits at 57 points, which came three seasons ago when the Rangers went on their last run to the Eastern Conference Final. From everything we saw from this player that season, he had arrived. He was the top line winger we expected him to be and he had finally taken that major step to becoming the player the Rangers drafted him to be. 

As a result, Chris Drury signed him to a seven-year contract extension with an AAV of $7.45 million. It’s important to note that it wasn’t just Lafrenière’s regular season performance that earned him that extension. He was arguably the Rangers top playoff performer, especially in the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers who were the gold standard of what it means to be a successful playoff team. 

The fact of the matter is Lafrenière has underperformed in the two seasons that followed the 2024 run to the Conference Final. A large part of that has to do with the team turning into a disaster, but a large part of that also has to do with his inability to be a standout player on his own. He’s a great complimentary piece on a line that’s having success (The Kid Line, or later with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck), but when the team needs him to be the star he hasn’t taken the opportunity to shine. 

With the team headed for another shake up, a trade involving Lafrenière could certainly be in the cards. However, in the event the Rangers go down this road, they need to ensure the return they get is going to be in their best interest moving forward. If he’s not included in a package to land a true star, the Rangers need to get as many valuable assets back as they possibly can.

Assessing Lafrenière's Value

Before diving into potential Lafrenière trades, let's talk about the value he has on the trade market. A large portion of Ranger fans are completely over him. But make no mistake, this is still a player with a future in this league and plenty of teams have good reason to value him highly.

At the time of this writing, there are eight teams in the playoff picture around the league that either haven't made the postseason in quite some time or are nearing the end of their own versions of a retool or rebuild. Those are good examples of teams that would benefit from a 24-year-old who already has 43 playoff games under his belt, not to mention 221 points in 429 games. With the rising cap, as long as Lafrenière can continue to play a top six role and show up in the postseason, he's going to be an important piece of an NHL team. It's just beginning to feel like it won't be with the Rangers.

A common complaint among Rangers fans against Lafrenière is the contract he is signed to for the next six years. Just north of $7 million AAV may seem significant, but to a team with cap space in need of offense, there is plenty of upside in taking on a project like Lafrenière.

Lafrenière Trade Comparables

When I first started thinking of potential trade scenarios for Lafrenière, the first thing I thought was when other first overall picks have been traded. My mind immediately went to June 29, 2016—almost ten years ago when one of the craziest hockey news days of all time, certainly of that era, took place. P.K. Subban was traded to Nashville for Shea Weber, Steven Stamkos—who was of particular interest to the Rangers—decided to re-sign in Tampa Bay, and Taylor Hall, a coveted (wing) prospect who Edmonton drafted first overall, was dealt to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Adam Larsson and a fifth overall pick. 

The Taylor Hall trade is likely one of the best comparable trades. Some other examples of first overall picks being traded include Erik Johnson who was sent to the Colorado Avalanche alongside Jay McClement and a first round pick in exchange for Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkrik. You can also look no further than the New York Rangers who acquired a former first overall pick in Rich Nash along with Steven Delisle and a third round pick in exchange for Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon, and a first round pick.

With that in mind, what would be considered a worthy trade for the former first overall pick? Here are five potential trade packages for Alexis Lafrenière.

1) Anaheim Ducks - Pavel Mintyukov and Nathan Gaucher

I made mention of this team and this player in my Carson Soucy story but in theory, this is the type of trade that makes the most sense for the Rangers.

Pavel Mintyukov was drafted tenth overall by the Ducks in 2022, and while he has made the jump straight to the NHL out of junior, his brief tenure in Anaheim has certainly been up and down. His career high so far came his rookie season when he appeared in 68 games and finished the season with a total of 28 points. The following season, he appeared in five more games but only had 19 points to show for it. This year, he has just 11 points in 41 games played. 

The problem with Mintyukov isn’t what he brings to the table; it’s more so that the Ducks blue line is a little crowded in terms of young defenseman who play that type of game. He’s currently slotting in on the third pair alongside Drew Helleson as the Ducks seem to favor Olen Zellweger who plays a similar style. If Zellweger is going to remain ahead of Mintyukov in the depth charts and Jackson Lacombe is locked in on the top pair, there just isn’t a path forward for Mintyukov, at least in this current point in time. The real kicker to this situation is that Mintyukov spent a number of games as a healthy scratch in late November which led to him indicating that he would like to be traded if he isn’t going to play. 

While he has played since Mintyukov could still be on the move, and is exactly the type of player the Rangers should be looking to add. He’s only 22 years old, has potential to be a top four defenseman in the NHL, and excels as a playmaking, puck-moving defenseman who isn’t afraid to play physically and contribute in all areas. Having a surplus of good defenseman isn’t necessarily a valid reason for the Ducks moving on from him. However, they have several defense prospects in the AHL who could be looking to compete for a third pair role as early as next season. 

The Ducks decision to move him could depend on what they plan to do with their own pending UFA’s. Both Jacob Trouba and Radko Gudas are on expiring deals (and the wrong side of 30) and currently playing in their top four. In the event the Ducks want to make a playoff push and want to keep those two around, trading Mintyukov for a player like Lafrenière makes plenty of sense. However, the Rangers have the slight advantage in these negotiations knowing Mintyukov is unhappy to an extent in his current situation. That, mixed with the fact that Lafrenière should have the higher value, the Rangers should also look to get Nathan Gaucher in this deal. 

A difficult-to-play-against, defensively responsible center who has some size and plays a north-south type of game, Gaucher is right up the Rangers alley. A first round pick the same year Mintyukov was drafted (22nd overall), Gaucher has yet to sniff the NHL and hasn’t blown anyone away with his AHL production. Who knows what a change of scenery can do and as mentioned, his style of play fits that on ice “culture” Drury is set on building around. 

To tie it to my Carson Soucy story where I suggested him as a fit for Anaheim, perhaps Lafrenière and Soucy could land you Mintyukov, Gaucher, an additional prospect, and a conditional third round pick. I don’t see the Ducks giving up Stian Solberg if they move Mintyukov, but perhaps you can grab Tarin Smith, an offensive defenseman with dynamic skill that could be a boom or busy type of prospect, as part of that package.