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Rangers and Lafreniere working on a long-term contract |
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The Rangers are reportedly working on a long-term extension with Alexis Lafreniere. According to Frank Seravalli, the two sides discussed several deals, including an eight-year contract with an AAV of $8 million. Lafreniere, an RFA after the season, had the breakthrough campaign last season we all hoped for and is deserving of a big contract.
This summer saw several players of a similar service time get long-term deals. Included within that list was an eight-year, $63.2 million contract awarded by Carolina to Seth Jarvis. The key is that the AAV is not just the $63.2 million divided by eight, but reduced by deferment. The Hurricanes is the first team to take advantage of what's allowed by the CBA, though no one else had used it
this is what I wrote on September 1, and given the five weeks that passed since then, most certainly applies now. We saw Laf score on his typical toe-drag move in Game 1 and he looks prime for another big season. While all the focus had been on Igor Shesterkin and if a contract would be signed before the season started, GM Chris Drury was rightfully working on one of the Rangers' key RFAs (a list that includes K'Andre Miller) to try and lock him for years.
If Laf has another big year, we know he could seek a Jarvis-type deal. Jarvis tallied 33 goals and 34 assists in year 3 in the NHL 20 of those 67 points coming on the PP. Laf potted 28 markers and 29 helpers with just six points on the man-advantage. At even strength, Jarvis notched 47 points, Lafreniere had 51. While Jarvis might be a more natural scorer, Laf has shown he is no slouch in that department. Using this contract as a touch point seems like a fair comparison.
Currently the cap is $88 million. Projections have the number rising to $91-92 million, though that number is not set in stone. A spike of 3-4 million would allow New York to be creative in signing their RFAs plus Igor longterm. If Laf gets $8 for 8, that would be around 9% of the car, presuming a $92 million figure next season. Deferments could be a factor. Even if not, Laf deserves a long-term contract, similar to the deals signed by Dylan Guenther, Lucas Raymond, etc., and one could be forthcoming in the near-term.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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