Media Bytes: Lafrenière, Gauging Goalies, Miller's Leadership, Fresh Vibes

Welcome back to Media Bytes, a weekly column from Blueshirt Banter. Every Sunday, we’ll help you start the week right with a quick catch-up on the latest stories and developments around the New York Rangers and the broader NHL media landscape.

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No Laffing Matter

1. Stephen Valiquette joined Blueshirts Breakaway this week to discuss the Rangers, offering high praise for Alexis Lafrenière's play this season.

Valiquette began with some important context, noting that Lafrenière entered the league under circumstances that made finding his NHL footing more challenging than it is for many first-overall picks. Rather than joining a rebuilding team that could offer him ample opportunity to develop, Lafrenière landed on a more competitive roster where earning his place wasn't as straightforward.

"It wasn't always easy for him to slot where a No. 1 pick should slot [in] coming out of the gate because it was a stronger team he was joining," he said. "It's not like he was Connor Bedard joining Chicago. It's a totally different conversation."

Valiquette then turned to Lafrenière's recent production, pointing out that, following the Olympic break last season, he led the Rangers in every statistical category—even as the team was playing out the string in a lost season.

"As a [former] player, I would discount garbage time for my teammates and for myself," he said, referencing that stretch. "Going into an offseason where you don't make the playoffs, you shouldn't feel good about your own personal outcomes, other than motivated to get into the summer and prove that what happened at the end of the year wasn't a fluke, and that you can do it when it matters."

In Valiquette's view, Lafrenière's performance this season isn't an isolated hot streak, but rather a continuation of the strong finish he put together last year. The young forward is building on that momentum and demonstrating that his late-season surge was no fluke.

"The most pressure and expectations are always on the teams who are coming off a season in which they didn't make the playoffs," he continued. "There's a lot of pressure on this Rangers team right now. They've missed the playoffs two years in a row, [and] with the pressure on the team and the pressure on Lafrenière, he's delivering."

"It's really [showing that] last year's run, post-Olympics, has blended into the beginning of the year," he emphasized. "And it's valued."

Gauging Goalies

2. In the wake of Igor Shesterkin's season-ending injury, speculation about who the Rangers might bring in to shore up their suddenly exposed goaltending depth has continued. On The Chris Johnston Show, Chris Johnston floated three more names the Blueshirts could consider.

"There's guys like Vitek Vanecek and David Rittich [and] other experienced goalies who've passed through waivers and were sent down to the American Hockey League," Johnston said, before wondering whether Samuel Montembeault could become a target once he returns from his own injury.

"All of these things will certainly be considered by the Rangers because they have to scour the market to see what's out there," he continued. "But [Dylan] Garand might make the most sense in the short term because it's not easy to go out there and get one of these players."

Prompted by co-host Julian McKenzie, Johnston also addressed the possibility of the Rangers pursuing St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, though he suggested a trade this early in the season was unlikely.

"We might have a discussion about him as we get deeper into the year, but a lot of that is going to be tied to the performance of the Blues and if they can stay in the playoff race through the meat of the season."