Source leaks what’s really happening with Alexis Lafrenière in New York!

Ever since Alexis Lafrenière was a healthy scratch for the New York Rangers last week, trade chatter has emerged that the first overall pick could be on the move. It took only a couple of days for reporters and insiders to link him to interested teams, including the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks.

However on Tuesday night’s Insider Trading on TSN, Pierre LeBrun got the information from a source on what’s really happening in New York.

“The reality is that the Rangers have told those teams, ‘Hey, we still believe in this young man.’ The Rangers – my understanding is – have told the same to Lafreniere himself, that they hope this is a good reset and they very much believe in his long-term potential here. So for now, he’s certainly a Ranger.”

That’s certainly different from the chatter that mentioned how the relationship between Lafrenière and head coach Gerard Gallant was strained and how a change of scenery could be what’s needed for him to find his offensive touch back.

Maybe Lafrenière simply needed a vote of confidence from his team… Unless this is a way from the Rangers and general manager Chris Drury to get him pumped and ready to look good for them to get a better return in an eventual trade prior to the March 3rd deadline. The Rangers are reportedly looking for a first-round pick and a a top end player in a transaction for the young forward. They’d need Lafrenière to step up from his current five goals and 12 assists to get a bidding war on the market.

However on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, Lafrenière failed to impress : he shot three times at the net but did not record a point, ended the night with a -2 rating in just over 13 minutes of ice time…

Let’s see if the Rangers’ approach as reported per LeBrun remains the same as the trade deadline nears.

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