How Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere compares to his contemporaries in NHL

NHL: Preseason-New York Islanders at New York Rangers
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Alexis Lafreniere agreed to a seven-year contract with a $7.45 million AAV with the New York Rangers on Oct. 26, a deal that seemed very unlikely to happen just one year earlier. 

The 23-year-old forward finally found his stride alongside superstar left wing Artemi Panarin and center Vincent Trocheck last season, though, finishing with an NHL career-high 57 points (28 goals, 29 assists) and delivering an excellent performance in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs (14 points; eight goals, six assists, in 16 games). 

His upward arc has continued this season with eight points (four goals, four assists) in nine games.

In the summer of 2023, Lafreniere signed a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.325 million following an invisible playoff series against the New Jersey Devils (0 points in seven games). Elliot Friedman, the host of “32 Thoughts” and Sportsnet’s NHL Insider, stated, “I think if it’s another year like (last season), they’ll have to move on. To me, this is a two-year deal but it’s a one-year deal in New York and then we’ll see.”   

Well. Lafreniere nailed that one-year window.

In the past three seasons, Lafreniere ranks eighth in scoring by players under 23 with 98 points. Six players below rank slightly above Lafreniere in this measure, but his 58-point season helped move the Rangers’ highest draft pick in history into that conversation. 

Lafreniere is often compared to his contemporaries because of his status as the 2020 No. 1 overall pick. In five NHL seasons, it seemed that players in recent drafts were blossoming with less insulation in their respective lineups and Lafreniere was floundering on a contender. 

That’s no longer the case.

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Comparing Rangers’ Alexis Lafreniere with his NHL contemporaries

NHL: New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs
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Here is how Lafreniere’s new deal and on-ice numbers stack up against some of his contemporaries. 

Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles Kings; No. 2 in 2020) 

Contract: 5 years, $31,250,000/$6.25 million AAV

Career: 189 GP, 28 G, 21 EVG,  64 A, 92 PTS, +24 +/-, 7 PPG, 98 PIM 

For a steaming hot second, it looked like Byfield’s breakout would stir the potential should-have-been-first-overall takes, but Lafreniere has ascended quickly enough to dampen those flames. 

Byfield was on par with Lafreniere last season, recording 55 points (20 goals, 35 assists) and subtly putting together a parallel career to the player selected before him. 

This season he has five points in 10 games. The 22-year-old center is still finding consistency at the NHL level, but for the pivot’s massive frame (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) and skill in the most versatile position on the ice, a $6.25 million AAV may value the best on this list in the future. 

He’s making $1.2 million less now than Lafreniere will make beginning next season and could play just as important a role with the Kings, with each team respectively poised to replace cornerstone players in Panarin and Anze Kopitar in the near future. 

They are close in comparisons by career trajectory and contract, but Lafreniere leads by 51 goals, 118 games, and 64 points thus far. 

Tim Stutzle (Ottawa Senators; No. 3 in 2020) 

Contract: 8 years, $66,800,000/$8.35 million AAV 

Career: 294 GP, 96 G, 165 A, 261 PTS, -62 +/-, 23 PPG, 69 EVG, 4 SHG, 723 SOG, 137 PIM

Stutzle, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2020 draft put Lafreniere to shame out of the gate. The Viersen, Germany, native’s numbers are still overlooked and are staggering considering his age and situation with the ever-struggling Ottawa Senators. 

Stutzle has bested Lafreniere at the dawn of their NHL careers, but power-play time and points must be considered in this conversation. 

Lafreniere has played on a second power-play unit that is lucky to see the ice after the unit of Kreider-Panarin-Trocheck-Fox-Zibanejad unit has seized the man-up opportunities. Most of Lafreniere’s production is at even strength. Stutzle bests Lafreniere in four key stat categories- goals (by 17), assists (by 89), points (by 105) and shots on goal (by 175). 

Although, a fifth category slims down the margin between the two. Stutzle is deployed on the first power-play unit, and has 23 career goals a man up, and 27 goals overall on special teams. Lafreniere controversially does not play on the Rangers’ first power-play unit. If you subtract the 27 special-teams goals from Stutzle and look at all other situations, Stutzle has 69 goals. Lafreniere’s 79 goals trump that total. 

Stutzle’s contract continues to appreciate but with more certain production behind the extra $900,000. 

Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings; No. 4 in 2020)

Contract: 8 years, $64,600,000/$8.075 million AAV

Career: 247 GP, 72 G, 110 A, 182 PTS, -58 +/-, 55 EVG, 16 PPG, 1 SHG, 497 SOG, 74 PIM 

Everybody (in Detroit) loves Raymond. He is as advertised, an intense two-way Swede with excellent vision and a punishing wrist shot. He plays in all situations and flanks Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat. Of those three, he is arguably Detroit’s best forward.

The fourth player taken in 2020 played his first NHL season in 2021-22, and that extra year of development in Sweden served him well — he posted 57 points as a rookie. Playing one less NHL season than Lafreniere, the development path for Raymond exposes how a year in a professional league equipped for development could have favored Lafreniere. 

Raymond leads Lafreniere in career assists (by 33), points (26), and special-teams goals (12), short 60 games less than Lafreniere. He had a 72-point season for the Red Wings in 2023-24. 

The catch is that Raymond had more leverage in contract negotiations. He’s worth the price tag, but Lafreniere’s deal can help the team nickel and dime while contending, and help acquire pieces when the Rangers look to extend their competitive window after 2025-26. Raymond is arguably the Red Wings’ best player, and there is no question why he eclipsed the $8 million AAV plateau.

Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils; No. 1 in 2019) 

Contract: 8 years, $64,000,000/$8 million AAV 

Career: 318 GP, 117 G, 88 EVG, 174 A, 291 PTS, 29 PPG, -49 +/-, 44 PIM 

These two careers are not so alike. 

Hughes’ dynamo, swagger, and assist totals best Lafreniere. His goal-scoring is not far ahead of Lafreneiere considering he’s played one more season. The No. 1 pick in 2019, taken one spot ahead of New York forward Kaapo Kakko, makes for good theatre for the Hudson River rivalry.

But in 2024, Lafreniere showed he can take over a playoff series — just as Hughes did against the Rangers a year earlier. Lafreniere did so against the eventual Stanley Cup champion. Hughes posted 11 points (six goals, five assists) in 12 games during the 2023 playoffs, and Lafreniere had 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 16 games in ‘24.

Signing Hughes to an eight-year contract with an AAV of $8 million was a major win for New Jersey; he’s already recorded a 99-point season, in 2022-23. But staying healthy has been an issue — Hughes played as many as 70 games once in his six NHL seasons.

Lafreniere is short 135 points, but he is only behind by 38 goals and 11 games. Subtract Hughes’ 29 power-play goals and he’s scored just nine more than Lafreniere. 

Jersey’s guy will likely always lead the two in playmaking, with nearly a 100-point lead in apples alone over the No. 1 across the river. 

Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes; No. 13 in 2020) 

Contract: 8 years, $63,200,000 million/$7.9 million AAV

Career: 239 GP, 67 G, 85 A, 152 PTS, +43 +/-, 16 PPG, 3 SHG, 495 SOG, 48 PIM 

Jarvis and Lafreniere had an exciting duel in the second round of the 2024 playoffs, when they combined for six goals in six games. 

Jarvis is right on par with Lafreniere, although he plays on the Hurricanes’ first power play. It evens out though, as he skates mainly on Carolina’s third line rather than in a top-six role with players like Panarin and Trocheck. 

The advantage for the Hurricanes is that it includes deferred payment, much like that of baseball mega-star Shohei Ohtani, where he will receive a payment of more than $15 million after his contract expires in 2032. The deferred money lowers Jarvis’ annual his cap hit and keeps his AAV below the $7.75 million of teammate Andrei Svechnikov. 

Matt Boldy (Minnesota Wild; No. 12 in 2019) 

Contract: 7 years, $49,000,000/$7 million AAV

Career: 212 GP, 103 A, 182 PTS, +24 +/-, 24 PPG, 629 SOG 

Boldy’s playing style is analogous to Lafreniere’s because of their physical drive and scoring sense. The Boston College product is tied with Lafreniere in career goals and leads him by 26 points. 

The native of Milford, Massachusetts has 24 power-play tallies. Subtracting always marginalizes the view between Lafreniere and his counterparts, but in this case, it puts them almost dead even. 

Boldy, taken a year before Lafreniere but didn’t come to the NHL until 2021-22, inked a deal that bests Lafreniere by $45,000 annually. It’s not an earth-shattering difference, as New York state taxes are much higher. 

Matty Beniers (Seattle Kraken; No. 3 in 2022)

Contract: 7-year, $49,980,000 million/$7.14 million AAV 

Career: 177 GP, 44 G, 65 A, 109 PTS, 22 PPG, 320 SOG, +6 +/-, 2023 Calder Trophy 

Beniers is two seasons behind Lafreniere, which seems like a massive jump right now, but that gap closes quickly when a youngster breaks out. We saw the Grand Canyon between Hughes and Lafreniere shrink, and that could very well happen for Beniers whose contract could already be the best on this list. 

The No. 3 overall selection in 2022 has played 130 fewer games than Lafreniere but is just 35 goals and 47 points behind him.  A $7.14 million AAV for a player on a parallel statistical trajectory to Stutzle and Raymond showed great foresight by general manager Ron Francis and Kraken management. 

Juraj Slafkovsky (Montreal Canadiens; No. 1 in 2022)

Contract: 8-year, $60,800,000/$7.6 million AAV (begins in 2025-26) 

Career: 128 GP, 25 G, 42 A, 67 PTS, -31 +/-, 17 EVG, 203 SOG

The player Lafreniere has the edge over by contract is Slafkovsky. The Slovakian forward has earned an 8-year, $7.6 million contract, almost the same as Lafreniere but with an eighth season. 

The risk is in the commitment. The first player taken in the 2022 draft struggled as a rookie but broke out with a 50-point season in 2023-24, something that Lafreniere needed four seasons to achieve. He has seven points in seven games this season, but has he shown enough to earn $7.6 million per season for eight seasons based on this sample?

Quantitatively Lafreniere leads the 20-year-old in all stat categories — but like Beniers, Slafkovsky could make his contract a steal of a deal. 

Matthew Mugno is a multi-media professional who has previously covered the New York Rangers for The Hockey News and... More about Matthew Mugno

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