Late on Thursday evening, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported that the New York Rangers are hard at work on a long-term extension for forward Alexis Lafreniere. Seravalli notes that sources indicated the deal could be eight years and higher than $8 million per season.
The NHL insider explained that things with Lafreniere were put on hold for a bit while the Rangers tried to get goaltender Igor Shesterkin signed before the season. After failing to do so, the club has pivoted back to working on the Lafreniere deal, which was reportedly well down the road. Part of the delay is the cap hit, since the Rangers need to keep both the deals for Lafreniere and Shesterkin in mind as he’s negotiating.
Seravalli notes that a couple of options are on the table, but that it won’t fall below $7 million, depending on the term. The Rangers have been doing a lot of work on that file. You see his start to the season, two points on Wednesday night for New York. I’m told that they made some pretty significant progress over the summer, I’m told that talks are ongoing…”
Seravalli added that this is a big moment for the Rangers as they try to put their cap picture together and it’s a huge moment for Lafreniere as this is likely the biggest contract he’ll get to sign in his NHL career. He noted that at 22, Lafreniere is really just scratching the surface for this team, especially after a monster playoff run in 2023-24. “They’re gonna need to take care of this guy.”
A cap hit of over $8 million per season seems high, but the Rangers are banking on the fact that the forward is only going to get better. Should he take a jump from his 57-point season (14 points in 16 playoff games), the hope is that this winds up being a team-friendly deal in the latter years of the extension.
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