Rangers demote Alexis Lafreniere as trade rumors grow: ‘We need more’

Alexis Lafreniere has not lived up to the hype of being the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft. There is really no disputing that.

It would also be difficult to dispute that he was put in an environment that properly develops young talent. Just look at how things went with former No. 2 overall pick Kaapo Kakko, who made his return to MSG as a member of the Seattle Kraken on Monday night.

Head coach Mike Sullivan demoted Lafreniere to the third line during New York’s 4-2 loss to Seattle, swapping him out for Gabe Perreault in hopes of shaking things up after that dismal 10-2 loss on Saturday to the Boston Bruins.

“We’re trying to tweak the lineup in ways that we think give us the best chance,” Sullivan reasoned. “Part of it is performance-based, too. We need more out of some guys, and I think Laf is a guy who can bring a little more to the table for us.”

The 24-year-old has undoubtedly been streaky, which is something that has plagued him his whole career. The last few games have been a microcosm of that. He put up three assists in the Winter Classic win over the Florida Panthers and then scored the following game against the Utah Mammoth.

In the four games since then, he has been held pointless, has a minus-7 rating, and has just three shots on goal. In 47 games this season, he has nine goals and 15 assists, which is not near the sort of production that many expected him to have by his sixth NHL season.

The Rangers are on the precipice of selling before the NHL’s March 6 trade deadline. With their loss to the Kraken, they sit just one point out of last place in the Metropolitan Division with two more games played than the bottom-dwelling Columbus Blue Jackets. They have lost each of their last four games and are 2-6-2 in their last 10.

General manager Chris Drury, who heard chants calling for his job on Monday night at Madison Square Garden, will likely receive calls for big-name contributors like Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, but there should be teams out there who want to take a chance on bringing in a high-upside talent (still) like Lafreniere in hopes that a change of scenery could unlock something new in his game.

For more on Alexis Lafreniere and the Rangers, visit AMNY.com