SUNRISE, Fla. — The Rangers’ top two overall picks have been in close alignment for the most part since the ping-pong ball rose from the machine in 2020 to give manager Jeff Gorton the right to select Alexis Lafreniere with the first overall pick.
Lafreniere and Kapo Kako experienced similar struggles when they first came up to the NHL and similarly didn’t get any opportunities in the top six. The two played together on the Kid Line two years ago and were key players in the Rangers’ run to the conference finals, with Kako scoring 40 points last season and Lafreniere scoring 39.
Kako is a year older, has a year of experience, was drafted second overall instead of first and expectations may have been slightly lower because it’s rare in the NHL for a French-Canadian to be the center of attention, but the situations surrounding the two players going into this season were, in effect, pretty similar.
It doesn’t feel that way anymore, does it?
Lafreniere has had a chance to finish in the top six under this coaching staff, scoring 57 points and finding a perfect fit on a line with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, who he has played with since the start of this season.
Whatever qualms Gerard Gallant had about using him on the right wing were clearly misplaced.
And in the playoffs, Lafreniere further proved his innocence. His two goals in Game 3 against the Panthers only added to the evidence that was already piling up.
It took a while, but Lafreniere looks like a franchise player at just 22 years old.
The Rangers need to figure out how to give him more ice time in the future, and maybe even now.
They’ll need to consider what Lafreniere’s next contract looks like this summer, and it may be to their advantage to think long-term about a six- or seven-year deal that would include buying out a year or two of Lafreniere’s eventual unrestricted free agency during their next extension negotiations.
As for Kako, his absence for medical reasons in Game 2 of the conference finals brought an end to his lackluster postseason, so there’s some debate as to whether his future is in New York.
He missed some time during the regular season due to injury, but his 19 points total was less than half of last season’s total.
If Caco was trying to hide his feelings about his suspension on Monday, he did so in poor fashion. He described his reaction to it as dissatisfaction, said he wasn’t given a reason and didn’t directly answer a question about whether he had contacted coach Peter Laviolette about the matter.
This is not a good sign, especially since a decision on Kako’s future needs to happen much sooner than a decision on Lafreniere’s.
By virtue of being a year older, Kako will become a restricted free agent a year early on July 1.
There’s no question that Kako is a productive player in the NHL — he moves well under the hash marks and on the wall, keeps the puck and is a responsible two-way player.
But since the trade of Pavel Buchnevich prior to the 2021-22 season, he hasn’t had the scoring power or production to consistently give him a top-six role, even though the spot next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibagint has been a battleground every training camp.
The question for Kako and Rangers is whether he can improve here and, if not, whether he’s happy with this being his role for the foreseeable future.
That’s an entirely different question than the one everyone’s asking about Lafreniere.
Three Questions for Larry
Washington Post pundit Larry Brooks is absent from the newsletter this week, so we held a quick Q&A with Larry to get his thoughts on the series.
ES: What would Peter Laviolette’s lineup be for Game 4? Matt Rempe was out late in Game 3, so that’s still in question. Kreider and Zibanejed have struggled at 5-on-5. The power play has yet to score a goal this series. Things will need to change.
lb: Obviously Laviolette didn’t trust Rempe enough to give him more than one 22-second shift after the second period. I think the coach gets too easily upset on the road when Rempe gets penalized for a borderline/reputational call. I’d play Rempe, but I can’t see Laviolette cutting his bench like that again. If Blake Wheeler is truly fit to play, now might be the time. If not, Johnny Brodzinski is the alternative. Adam Edstrom is also unlikely to play, as is Rempe’s 6’7″ escape room buddy. I’d keep it the same, but I expect the coach to make a change.
ES: You said in your article on Sunday night that this team is very similar to the 2011-12 team in that mentality is a big strength. That team ran out of steam in the conference finals. How much of a concern is that for this team, whether it’s the conference finals or the Cup final?
lb: Great point. John Tortorella benched too early in the tournament. That’s a concern. But the Black and Blueshirts were forced into seven-game series in each of the first two rounds, but this group beat the Caps and Hurricanes in a combined 10 games. The 2011-12 team had a two-day period between Ottawa in the first round and Washington in the second round. They also had a two-day period between the second round and the conference finals. This team had a one-week period between Washington and Carolina and a six-day period between Carolina and Florida.
ES: Can the Rangers continue to win as they did in Game 3? And what are the most important things they need to fix heading into Tuesday?
lb: It’s unlikely they can win again, but with their tenacity and Igor Shesterkin’s Conn Smythe-worthy play, it’s possible. They need to make quicker decisions to beat the forecheck, not to mention fix the power play.
How to evaluate a scoreless draw
Zibanejad made a valid point when answering a question about his line’s struggles offensively, pointing out that he, Kreider and Filip Chytil faced off against Aleksandr Barkov’s line in the series and it ended in a 0-0 draw.
The Panthers created most of their chances during those crucial minutes: The Rangers accounted for just 35.71 percent of their expected goals during the 23 minutes and 6 seconds that Zibanejad and Barkov shared the ice at five-on-five.
But there’s something to be said for the fact that the scoresheet was level – although Rangers would have liked a better result, of course.
“It’s a delicate balance,” Zibanejed said. “It’s good to be accountable defensively. If you’re not scoring, you’re not good offensively. They have guys who can do both, and the line can do both. So at the end of the day, I think it’s good to win. Obviously, from a personal standpoint, I want to do whatever I can to play my best and contribute, but depending on the game, I need to evaluate and understand more what the game scenario is and how things are changing during the game.”
“I know their lines and I know Barkov won the Selke Trophy. [Trophy]as well. So that part of his game obviously makes it difficult for us, but at the same time, he’s also scoring at a pretty high rate. We’re not trying to go out there and play 0-0, but at the same time, we have to make sure that we’re accountable as well if we don’t get the offense that we want and expect.
“Therefore, the proposal [that] We’re trying to go in a more aggressive direction and try to go on the offensive, but I don’t know if that’s best for us.”
