Trade Proposal Emerges That Sends Lafreniere North Of The Border

The Montreal Canadiens have had a rough past couple of years. After making the Stanley Cup finals in 2021, they finished dead last in 2022 and 5th to last in 2023. They have a mix of young and old players but their rebuild will be centered around top players Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield as well as top picks Juraj Slafkovsky and David Reinbacher.

It looks as if they will be missing out on the playoffs for another year and they have some roles to fill in their top six with the only guarantees being Suzuki, Dach, and Caufield.

Alexis Lafreniere has been struggling since entering the NHL with his season high for points being 39 which he registered this past season.

He has played 216 career games and has yet to elapse the 100-point barrier.

The Rangers have a plethora of established talent on their roster with Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, and Blake Wheeler all above Lafreniere on the depth chart.

It may be time for a change for Lafreniere to avoid the dreaded label of bust.

This mock trade makes a lot of sense for both sides. The Rangers would be getting a player to help them instantly in Josh Anderson who could slide into the top six seamlessly. Anderson plays a very playoff-style game and come the postseason, he provides far more value than his numbers suggest.

In return, the Canadiens would be getting Lafreniere as a reclamation project and Barclay Goodrow who could be quite solid in their bottom six for years to come.

Both sides would be getting something to entice their current situations and this could help the Rangers pursuit of a Cup right now and the Canadiens pursuit of a Cup in the future.