Lafreniere forbidden to give interview in French by GM Drury

Alexis Lafreniere might be a talented young forward playing for the New York Rangers, he grew up in Quebec and media outlets in Montreal love to shine the spotlight on him.

However, when reporter Jean-François Chaumont of the Journal de Montreal met with Lafreniere for an interview last week, he was shocked to find out that speaking French was not allowed.

Luc Gélinas of RDS revealed on the air of 91.9 Sports that when Chaumont and Lafreniere started speaking French, the Rangers’ PR told them that if this interview were to keep going, it had to be in English.

Both Chaumont and Lafreniere were stunned by the demand, and the reporter considered leaving, wanting to finish the interview and get something out of the press, he kept going in English.

The next day at prentice, the Rangers’ PR told Chaumont that he was sorry about the rule, but that it was mandatory per general manager Chris Drury who wants to know and understand everything that is said and asked of his players.

Gélinas believes a complaint should be filed in to the NHL, though it remains to be seen if that will happen.

Lafreniere does not get the chance to answer to his hometown media in French very often to start with and so, why prevent him from doing so?

Drury likes to be in control, sure, but he needs to trust his players and also allow them to express themselves as they wish.

Are we supposed to assume Artemi Panarin cannot answer in Russian?