Mercogliano Rangers Expected to Sign Lafreniere to 2-year Bridge With $2.5–2.75m AAV

[Scott]

1 hour ago, RJWantsTheCup said:

Could you imagine what we would be saying on here if we were paying Farabee 5M?

 

It'd be more than fine as long as the same announcement included who we then traded him too and what the return was. Otherwise  

[Br4d]

I'm guessing this negotiation will draw out a bit longer.

[Phil]

I mean, it shouldn't. It's clear where it needs to fall. The only real squabble might be attainable bonuses or the exact nature of the year-to-year variance. As a point of comparison, Miller's deal is $2,748,000 base this coming year + $350,000 bonuses, then $4,646,000 pure base in year two (setting the floor for his next deal).

 

Laugh will probably do something similar.

[Br4d]

Right, except we have multiple contracts signed this year by similar players in age and circumstance that are substantially higher than $2.5-2.75 AAV.

 

If I'm Lafreniere's reps I'm saying "he was the #1 overall.  Pay him or trade him to somebody who will."

 

I think we tend to forget that this is nowhere near the ideal situation for Lafreniere.  The Rangers are treating him like a young player to be casually developed.  In most cases he would be the franchise and getting every opportunity that could be shoveled his way.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Br4d

[Phil]

12 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Right, except we have multiple contracts signed this year by similar players in age and circumstance that are substantially higher than $2.5-2.75 AAV.

 

If I'm Lafreniere's reps I'm saying "he was the #1 overall.  Pay him or trade him to somebody who will."

 

I think we tend to forget that this is nowhere near the ideal situation for Lafreniere.  The Rangers are treating him like a young player to be casually developed.  In most cases he would be the franchise and getting every opportunity that could be shoveled his way.

 

Which contracts are you referring to? Newhook is the only one that comes to mind. He makes $2.9 million and signed for four years at the age of 22. His deal is $3.5, $3.3, $2.7, $2.1 million base salary structure. Zero signing bonuses.

 

Laugh is 21. I'm not sure you can get a better comparable. Certainly not this year. I see no one remotely in that range here:

 

https://www.capfriendly.com/comparables/alex-newhook-12505

 

"He was #1 overall," isn't an argument, by the way.

[RangersIn7]

7 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Which contracts are you referring to? Newhook is the only one that comes to mind. He makes $2.9 million and signed for four years at the age of 22. His deal is $3.5, $3.3, $2.7, $2.1 million base salary structure. Zero signing bonuses.

 

Laugh is 21. I'm not sure you can get a better comparable. Certainly not this year. I see no one remotely in that range here:

 

https://www.capfriendly.com/comparables/alex-newhook-12505

 

"He was #1 overall," isn't an argument, by the way.

It is if they decide to make it one. 

[Br4d]

3 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

"He was #1 overall," isn't an argument, by the way.

 

Sure it is. #1 overall picks who hit the NHL right away get power play time.  Power play times turns into more points and a better negotiating position.

 

Of course they're on worse teams than then Rangers however that's on the Rangers not on Lafreniere.

 

Lafreniere is the only #1 pick of the last decade not to get power play opportunities his first two seasons.

[Sod16]

18 minutes ago, Br4d said:

If I'm Lafreniere's reps I'm saying "he was the #1 overall.  Pay him or trade him to somebody who will."

 

And in response, if I'm Drury, I'm saying "the fact that you were a No. 1 is at this point irrelevent to every team in the leage but us."

[Phil]

6 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

It is if they decide to make it one. 

 

Nope.

 

"I'm still waiting to hear your point," would be my response.

 

Points. Goals. Production. Role. Minutes played. Key/winning moments – these are arguments. None of which argues much in favor of breaking the $2.5M~ AAV presumed offer.

 

6 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

And in response, if I'm Drury, I'm saying "the fact that you were a No. 1 is at this point irrelevent to every team in the leage but us."

 

Bingo.

[Br4d]

4 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

And in response, if I'm Drury, I'm saying "the fact that you were a No. 1 is at this point irrelevent to every team in the leage but us."

 

You cannot win an argument with a young player who will have options soon enough.  You need to find ways to meet them in the middle.

 

Maybe Lafreniere takes the deal the Rangers want to give him if he is guaranteed power play time.  Maybe he takes the opportunity to suggest to the Rangers that the fit is not particularly good here and he agrees to a deal if it includes a trade.

 

At this point in his career I'm pretty sure the most disappointed person is Lafreniere and that's due to both opportunities and play.  This including the fact that if he was another 21 year old player taken somewhere else in the draft everybody would likely be thrilled with how things have turned out so far.

[Phil]

7 minutes ago, Br4d said:

 

Sure it is. #1 overall picks who hit the NHL right away get power play time.  Power play times turns into more points and a better negotiating position.

 

Of course they're on worse teams than then Rangers however that's on the Rangers not on Lafreniere.

 

Lafreniere is the only #1 pick of the last decade not to get power play opportunities his first two seasons.

All accurate and all irrelevant to his negotiating power.

 

Again, who/what are the comparable deals you're talking about here?

[Phil]

Just now, Br4d said:

 

You cannot win an argument with a young player who will have options soon enough.  You need to find ways to meet them in the middle.

 

Maybe Lafreniere takes the deal the Rangers want to give him if he is guaranteed power play time.  Maybe he takes the opportunity to suggest to the Rangers that the fit is not particularly good here and he agrees to a deal if it includes a trade.

 

At this point in his career I'm pretty sure the most disappointed person is Lafreniere and that's due to both opportunities and play.  This including the fact that if he was another 21 year old player taken somewhere else in the draft everybody would likely be thrilled with how things have turned out so far.

 

Great. Ask for a trade, then. I'm sure Drury will be just rushing to make it while he maintains total control over the asset.

[Br4d]

12 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Great. Ask for a trade, then. I'm sure Drury will be just rushing to make it while he maintains total control over the asset.

 

My point is that when you have a young talent it behooves you to get on their good side because you can't do anything useful from a point of contention.

 

The way the Rangers have dealt with Lafreniere so far has alienated a significant part of the fan base from him.  That's just bad business.

[Pete]

13 minutes ago, Br4d said:

if he was another 21 year old player taken somewhere else in the draft everybody would likely be thrilled with how things have turned out so far.

This is a total non-point. And, it's one that can't be brought into the same argument as "pay him because he was #1 overall".

[Pete]

2 minutes ago, Br4d said:

The way the Rangers have dealt with Lafreniere so far has alienated a significant part of the fan base from him.

Nah. His play did that.

[Br4d]

Like Jack Hughes early play alienated the Devils fans?

 

I mean seriously if Jack Hughes had had year one and two here that he had in Jersey you guys would have been ready to run him out of the building.

[Br4d]

The Rangers have a #1 and #2 overall pick at this point that the whole board has been spitting at for two+ seasons.

 

That's not an unlucky accident.  It's a product of how the Rangers have gone about developing them.

[Pete]

10 minutes ago, Br4d said:

Like Jack Hughes early play alienated the Devils fans?

 

I mean seriously if Jack Hughes had had year one and two here that he had in Jersey you guys would have been ready to run him out of the building.

You can't even compare these players. Don't even try.

 

But if Hughes was a 40 point 3rd liner, then yea I bet Devil's fans would have the same reaction.

[Scott]

45 minutes ago, Sod16 said:

And in response, if I'm Drury, I'm saying "the fact that you were a No. 1 is at this point irrelevent to every team in the leage but us."

Exactly. Then maybe you should of shown us something and maybe you shouldn't need to be developed down to the level of someone having to explain you need to be in the best shape possible as a starting point.  Lastly as a starting point you still don't even get the point of needing a top shelf work ethic at this level.  It's everybody else's fault, everybody's.  Would be funny if it wasn't so sad.  I'm sorry I don't buy for one second the org turned off every single part of this kids game, if there was a lot there it would shine through yet there's been nothing there that says he's a special player, nothing. 

 

And IF he were to want out because it's too tough here to get the minutes and or money he thinks he deserves to be handed based on where he was drafted please by all means accommodate him, immediately.  

Edited July 12, 2023 by jsrangers

[RangersIn7]

You act as if there’s going to be an issue.

 

BTW…. Andersson, Kravtsov, and how much everyone wants to talk negatively about Laf, Chytil, Kakko over the last several years….

 

Not possible it could just be organizational ineptitude as far as handling and developing these guys goes? I mean, what with their stellar record in drafting and developing, particularly forwards, that couldn’t possibly be it.

Cause ya know… there’s that laundry list of elite, high-end talent kind of forwards that they’ve homegrown over the years… so they’ve gotta be bloomin’ experts at it. 

 

 

[Pete]

6 minutes ago, Br4d said:

The Rangers have a #1 and #2 overall pick at this point that the whole board has been spitting at for two+ seasons.

 

That's not an unlucky accident.  It's a product of how the Rangers have gone about developing them.

Nah. You can re redrafts for both these players. It's evident that they both lack the skating chops for the NHL. Not necessarily speed, but edgework, first-step acceleration, stops and starts. They just can't get to where they want to be efficiently enough against NHLers.

 

Frankly they should have both been in the AHL, but COVID. If 2 different teams drafted these players, I think they'd just be disappointments for their teams. But winning the draft lottery two years in a row and got ...this... was in fact (un)lucky and an accident.

 

But, the idea that just  them un-earned PP time would have somehow changed their developmental arc is pretty fascinating.

 

 

[Phil]

I'm still waiting to see the "multiple contracts signed this year by similar players in age and circumstance that are substantially higher than $2.5-2.75 AAV."

[Pete]

3 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

You act as if there’s going to be an issue.

 

BTW…. Andersson, Kravtsov, and how much everyone wants to talk negatively about Laf, Chytil, Kakko over the last several years….

 

Not possible it could just be organizational ineptitude as far as handling and developing these guys goes? I mean, what with their stellar record in drafting and developing, particularly forwards, that couldn’t possibly be it.

Cause ya know… there’s that laundry list of elite, high-end talent kind of forwards that they’ve homegrown over the years… so they’ve gotta be bloomin’ experts at it.

There's nothing wrong with Chytil's development. He was a late first that came into the league as an 18 year old and has gotten better (slowly) and shown flashes of dynamic play. The questions for him are if there's more there and if he can stay healthy.

 

Kakko, also, has visibly improved, as has his numbers. You can see progress. Not so with Laugh.

 

Liass and Krav were just bad picks in those spots, in weak drafts, that never should have been made. Poor scouting.

[RangersIn7]

Then why harp on how bad they might be when you know they’re young kids who are developing????

 

Thats a general “you” by the way.

 

IDK… seems counterproductive 

[Phil]

Anyway, Laugh will sign a two-year bridge worth around $2.5 million per year, because that's what's available to him. That, or he can sit and wait for money that will never materialize to materialize. His choice.