New York Rangers stars discuss how they feel about Alexis Lafrenière's contract extension

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Ryan Hall
October 28, 2024 (11:14)

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It's been a few days since the New York Rangers have announced the contract extension agreement reached with upcoming star Alexis Lafrenière who signed a seven-year deal worth $52 million which some teammates feel is a pay cut and has done the Rangers a favor.

Peter Baugh of the Athletic, reached out to Rangers players to get their opinions on the new deal. Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck gave his thoughts and feels that Lafrenière did the Rangers a huge favor.

«I personally think he's doing good by the Rangers with this deal,» Trocheck said via The Athletic's Peter Baugh.

While some may feel this way, Lafrenière himself feels very comfortable with his new contract as many players would vouch that the salary cap will rise significantly over the next number of years and that he could have signed for more money on a shorter-term deal. Some players including Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews have gone this route to maximize his return on what he can make.

LaFreniere spoke about his new deal with Colin Stevenson of Newsday and gave his take on his new riches.

«Not really,» Lafrenière said via Colin Stephenson of Newsday about if he considered taking a shorter term deal to wait for the cap to go up. «I think, you know, seven years was good... There was different options, but that's the one we we liked, and we took it.»

Signing this deal will give the Rangers the cap hit of $7.45 million per season which will end in 2032. Having a cornerstone piece with that cap hit will certainly help the Rangers in the future as the salary cap continues to rise. The 23-year-old star had a breakout season last year as he played all 82 games, scoring 28 goals for 57 points along with 40 penalty minutes.

This season is a continuation of last as he has played eight games and has four goals with eight points and is a + 1.

The Rangers will now prepare for their next game on the road against the Washington Capitals and Lafrenière will now settle down and enjoy his new contract and just play the game he loves as the game will take place on October 29th at 7:30 PM eastern.