Report: New York Rangers Could Trade Alexis Lafreniere

The New York Rangers are open for business and GM Chris Drury is looking to totally flip his roster upside down. This is expected to be a heavy retool and not a rebuild, but it's to the point now that Drury has sat down and met with everyone on his team who has a no-movement clause to see if they are open to a change of scenery.

While many of the Rangers veterans could be moved ahead of the deadline, the big name everyone is wondering about is former first-overall pick, Alexis Lafreniere. The 24-year-old winger hasn't been as consistent as the team has hoped to this point of his career, and while there's been flashes of brilliance, many feel Lafreniere would be better suited on a new team, new market, and out of the spotlight.

Daily Faceoff's Jonny Lazarus, who covers the Rangers as good as anyone, commented on Lafreniere's future on Broadway on a recent episode of Daily Faceoff Live, and shed some light on what he thinks could be happening in New York:

I think they’re considering it heavily, really, if there’s a good enough offer for it. Just like Trevor Zegras moving from the Anaheim Ducks to the Philadelphia Flyers, sometimes a guy needs a change, the change of scenery, right?

You see a young player who sometimes just doesn’t get the opportunity right away, and their confidence dwindles. I think we’ve kind of seen that a little bit with Lafreniere, even though two years ago, he looked like the most confident guy on the planet. But, I think, in fairness, like Lafreniere has a seven-year contract and some people might say he’s overpaid because he hasn’t played great this year, but seven years and $7 million AAV for a guy who has the skill we’ve seen, it’s not a huge risk to trade for a guy like that.

The Rangers enter Thursday's action with a 21-24-6 record, last in the Eastern Conference, and expect to see Drury pull the trigger on a few moves ahead of the Olympic roster freeze.