12:42 pm: The deal will work out to an actual AAV of $7.45 million, per PuckPedia. That’s a total value of $52.15 million.

11:54 am: The Rangers are closing in on a seven-year extension with the winger Alexis Lafrenière worth just under $7.6 million per season, sources tell Larry Brooks of the New York Post. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said earlier Friday that talks between the Rangers and the incoming RFA had “intensified.”

That means the total value of the deal will be between $50 and 53 million. It’s a contract that would have been unthinkable for the 2020 first-team squad less than two years ago, a clear demonstration of how much he has improved since the start of last season.

Trade rumors swirled around Lafrenière after his third season in New York. During that time he had not managed to average more than half a point per game at any stage – not an acceptable performance from a first-time striker, even so early in their career. However, there was a coaching change Peter Laviolette behind the Rangers bench, which gave Lafrenière more ice time by shifting him to his right after years of sticking to his natural left side.

Essentially it is stapled to one line Artemi Panarin And Vincent Trochecka pair with whom he has developed an undeniable chemistry. Lafrenière played all 82 games in 2022-23 and recorded a career-high 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points while averaging more than 17 minutes per night. The trio formed the Rangers’ best two-way line last season, working together regularly and controlling 55.6% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck.

During the playoffs, Lafrenière increased his production per game even further. With the President’s Trophy winners being bounced in the Eastern Conference Final by the eventual champion Panthers, Lafrenière leveled Trocheck and Chris Kreider led the team in goals with eight and added six assists for 14 points in 16 games. He has continued that momentum into 2024-25, lighting the lamp four times and adding three assists for seven points in seven games. He still skated with Panarin and Trocheck and averaged almost 18 minutes per game.

Lafrenière has now parlayed that production into a long-term commitment with the Blueshirts, who will lock him up at an extremely affordable price through the 2031-32 campaign if he continues his recent offensive performances. His deal starts next season, preventing him from reaching restricted free agency for the second time in his career. The forward signed a two-year bridge contract worth a total of $4.65 million in August 2023, far less than what he will earn in one season on his new deal.

He will be 30 when the deal expires; he turned 23 earlier this month. That allows him to once again make money on a long-term deal while remaining UFA eligible, although probably not as much as he could have made if he had a five- or six-year extension with the Rangers signed. For New York, signing Lafrenière now likely offers a more affordable outcome than waiting until the end of the season, especially if he maintains his per-game pace from the start.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.