Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere on new deal: 'Fired up to stay for seven years'

Following a well-attended optional morning skate at Madison Square Garden Saturday, prior to the night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks, Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck was asked what kind of thank you gifts he and Artemi Panarin wanted from their linemate Alexis Lafreniere, after helping him secure a contract extension that will net the former No. 1 overall pick $52.15 million over the next seven years.

“Bread (Panarin) said a helicopter will do,’’ Trocheck deadpanned.

Then, asked what he wanted from Lafreniere, Trocheck said, “I’ll just ride in Bread's helicopter.’’

Joking aside, though, Trocheck said he was happy for Lafreniere, and proud of him, too, for earning a lucrative new deal. He called the 23-year-old Montreal area native “a spectacular hockey player,’’ and said he was excited for him and the team.

“Obviously, I’m very proud to see what he's growing into,’’ Trocheck said. “And, personally, he's doing good by the Rangers, too, with this deal. So, all around, excited, I guess.’’

Lafreniere, speaking publicly for the first time since the deal was announced Friday night, said he was “happy to be done with it, and fired up to stay for seven years.’’ Currently playing in the final season of the two-year bridge deal he signed in 2023, he said it was nice to get a new contract settled early, so now he can focus on the season.

But given the fast start he’s had – he entered Saturday with four goals and three assists in the season’s first seven games – the $7.45 million average annual value of the deal looks pretty team-friendly. GM Chris Drury will be looking for ways to have enough room under the salary cap to sign goaltender Igor Shesterkin, defenseman K’Andre Miller and a number of other players on expiring contracts, and Lafreniere could have insisted on getting more than he did.

Lafreniere was asked if there was ever any consideration of signing a shorter-term deal that would set him up for another big payday in a few years.

“Not really,’’ he said. “Seven years was good… There was different options, but that's the one we liked, and we took it.’’

He also said he never considered playing out this season, and waiting until he was a restricted free agent over the summer to negotiate a new deal.

“No,’’ he said. “Now you can really just focus on playing your game, and you don't think about anything. So that's really huge for me… I'm happy it's done with.’’

After three just OK years under previous coaches David Quinn and Gerard Gallant, Lafreniere finally had his breakout season last year, when new coach Peter Laviolette switched him from left wing to right wing, and played him with Trocheck and Panarin, on what turned out to be one of the top lines in the NHL.

Lafreniere produced career highs in goals (28), assists (29) and points (57) in the regular season, and added 14 points in 16 playoff games, including eight goals, which tied him with Trocheck and Chris Kreider for the team high.

“I've said I thought he was a top player for us in the playoffs,’’ Laviolette said. “He was executing at a high level. And then, coming into this year, he seems to have picked up where that left off, and he'll probably continue to grow as a player. He's still a young player, still so much room for growth inside of his game.’’

Trocheck thinks the ceiling is high for what Lafreniere can still achieve.

“I don't know how to put into words his ceiling,’’ Trocheck said. “He's an elite right winger, and I think he has the potential to be top 20, top 10 in the league. I think him and Bread are very similar in a lot of ways. So I think… where you've seen Bread at is probably Laf's ceiling. I think… points wise, he can get up to 100 points. Obviously, he's showing the scoring touch. I think he can score 30 goals in this league, maybe more. So, I don’t want to put a cap on it, because I feel like there's so much that he's capable of.’’

Blue notes

Backup goaltender Jonathan Quick was scheduled to get the start against the Ducks, Laviolette said. It would be his second game of the season… Other than that, there was one lineup change, with D Zac Jones entering the lineup and rookie Victor Mancini being scratched.

“The toughest thing about the last couple years is kind of learning how to handle being scratched and handle not be in the lineup every night,’’ said Jones, who had been scratched the last three games. “So I kind of learned over the past couple years how to handle it.’’… Jake Leschyshyn was recalled from AHL Hartford to serve as the emergency 13th forward.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.