Why Alexis Lafreniere is Biggest X-Factor for NY Rangers This Season

Is Alexis Lafreniere the biggest x-factor for the New York Rangers this coming season?

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) skates against the Washington Capitals during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coming off a disappointing season, the New York Rangers are a team that should be better during the 2026-27 campaign. However, they do have a number of players who could decide whether they are either a playoff contender or struggle once again. 

Following a terrible season, the Rangers were one of the more aggressive teams in terms of trying to improve. New York was able to add a lot of new faces with players like Pavel Dorofeyev, Sean Durzi, and Marcus Pettersson all coming in. 

With the upgrades, the Rangers were able to accomplish some of their noticeable needs. They should be better at putting the puck in the net with Dorofeyev coming off a 37-goal season. Furthermore, the likely second-pair for them on the blueline is also going to help the depth of the team. 

However, as a team that finished in last place in the Eastern Conference, just how good they can be next year is a good question to ask. While the team will be relying on the new faces to help, so too must some of the returning talent. 

One player who the team will be hoping to see lead them is former first overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere. 

Lafreniere is Biggest X-Factor

Apr 8, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) shoots and scores his second goal of the gmae against the Buffalo Sabres during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While the career for the 24-year-old hasn’t started the way that he or the Rangers would have hoped for, Lafreniere has still been a more than serviceable player in the league. 

However, when being taken with the first overall pick, the expectation is that the player will be a star, and that hasn’t been the case for Lafreniere just yet. While it’s crazy to say that he has been in the league for six years already, he is still just 24 years old, and the potential to improve is there. 

Last year, in the final two months of the season, Lafreniere showcased over an extended stretch that perhaps he can be the player the team was hoping for when they drafted him. 

In March and April, he totaled 24 points in 23 games with 11 goals and 13 assists. Considering his overall points for the year were 57, he really found his groove at the end of the season. 

With a 23-game stretch being a quarter of the season and not a small sample size, the Rangers will be hopeful that is something he can sustain going into next season. 

If Lafreniere can be close to a point-per-game player, the offense for the Rangers changes completely, and so too will their outlook for next year.