from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Maybe if it had been a normal summer. Maybe if it had been a normal training camp. Maybe if the pandemic did not coincide with Alexis Lafreniere’s first-overall selection by the Rangers in 2020, the organization would have done the, well, right thing by immediately moving the lad to right wing in order to avoid the Chris Kreider-Artemi Panarin blockade he would confront on the left side.

Three disappointing seasons later, Lafreniere remains somewhat of a mystery. His rate production as a third-liner with negligible power play time is impressive, third on the Rangers over his tenure with 0.9 five-on-five goals per 60 minutes that ranks third behind only Pavel Buchnevich’s 1.08 and Kreider’s 1.04 among players with 700 minutes of ice time. But his impact has not been commensurate with that fancy stat.

There is shared blame for that. A lot of rationalizations, with some of those no more than excuses. If the Rangers have to assume responsibility for this, Lafreniere — who will turn 22 the day before the Oct. 12 opener in Buffalo — has to take ownership of his career.

That means whether he is on the right or left side. That means whether he starts the season as a top-six winger or begins again on the third unit. Me? I’m moving No. 13 to the right because, I’m sorry (no I’m not in the least), I am not demoting Kreider — the NHL’s seventh-leading goal-scorer over the last two years — to the third line.

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