The Senators were famously rumored to covet Lafreniere at the 2020 NHL draft. The Senators held both the 3rd and 5th overall picks. There were many rumors that came out about what the Rangers asking price was. Some said it was 3rd+5th. Others said 3rd+Tkachuk.

Shortly after drafting Lafreniere, the Rangers saw a change in management. Their new management group is said to covet size and physical play. With their first round pick in 2021, they expected to select a player who exemplified that type of play, Tyler Boucher. Only there was one problem, the Ottawa Senators went off the board and selected Boucher at 10th overall.

Long time Senators owner Eugene Melnyk passed away last month. This paved the way for the Senators to revisit the long awaited downtown arena. An arena that will be down the street from the Quebec border, and a stone throws away from Orleans, Ontario - the mostly Francophone town that in 1999 was amalgamated into the City Of Ottawa.

While Lafreniere has shown flashes of strong play, he has not lived up to his pre-draft hype that made him one of the most popular 1st overall picks of this era. Lafreniere only has one year left on his ELC. If the Rangers are not sold on him, now is the time to cash in on what remains of his value.

Tyler Boucher struggled in College hockey. As a result, he dropped out of College, and moved to the OHL. While he has shown some positive signs, he has not shown enough to vindicate the Senators for selecting him off the board at 10th overall. With that said, the management group of the Rangers coveted Boucher only one year ago. Is it a stretch to think that they still value him highly?

With the Senators pushing to fix the marketing issues the team faced under Melnyk, this trade would see them add one of the most marketable French players to enter the league in decades. The price would be steep, but it could pay dividends as the Senators try to rebuild their season ticket base that was eviscerated under Melnyk.

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The trade is:
-7th Overall In 2022
-2023 1st Round Pick (Top 10 Protected)
-Tyler Boucher (Selected 10th overall in 2021, 3 year ELC in tact.)
-Connor Brown (3.6M Cap hit, pending UFA)

For

-Alexis Lafreniere (Selected 1st overall in 2020, 1 year left on his ELC)

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-With this trade, the Senators would acquire Alexis Lafreniere.
-This trade would be made after the draft lottery.
-We will assume the Senators do not win the lottery. The Rangers will acquire the 7th overall pick in the 2022 draft.
-Additionally, the Rangers will acquire the Senators 2023 pick, which will be top 10 protected.
-Lastly, Connor Brown will go to the Rangers. Brown will be on the final year of a contract that has him at a bargain 3.6M cap hit. With the Senators unlikely to re-sign Brown after the contract expires, moving on from him makes sense. He would be a 1 year rental for the Rangers. He could play tough minutes in their top 9.

Does this trade proposal spark joy?

“But when we really delve into the reasons for why we can’t let something go, there are only two: an attachment to the past or a fear for the future.”

— Marie Kondo.

Smoking Crack on this one lmao

Lmao

1. Can’t see why the rangers would trade him.
2. Can’t see why he’s worth half of that.

I did and do covet Laffy.

This is way too much however.

Drop the 7OA, add the OTT 2nd and a nice near NHL ready prospect

Just way too much of an overpay

Still too much.

I find it funny how posters from the Rangers say I am smoking crack for thinking Lafreniere could go for that, and posters from the Senators think it's too much.

The trade is already a lot of quantity on the Senators side for quality. I don't think it makes sense to water it down even more by taking out the best piece in the trade. Lafreniere isn't the bust people make him out to be. He would be one of the most productive Senators The only Senator with more even strength goals than Lafreniere is Brady Tkachuk.

I think if the Rangers did listen on Lafreniere, they would get a better offer than the one I proposed in the original post. But I don't think it's far off enough to merit accusations of illicit drug use.