- Mercogliano projects Lafreniere on the Rangers’ top line with Zibanejad and Dorofeyev
- Lafreniere closed 2025-26 with 14 goals over his final 27 games after the Panarin trade
- Read below for why 2026-27 could be his best season yet
Alexis Lafreniere might finally be getting the setup his game has been waiting for.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic projects the 2020 first overall pick to open 2026-27 on the Rangers’ top line, skating next to center Mika Zibanejad and prized offseason addition Pavel Dorofeyev.
That last name is the key. Dorofeyev is a pure sniper who put up a career-high 37 goals and 64 points last season, then buried 12 in 22 games during Vegas’ run to the Cup Final.
Lafreniere has always been a natural playmaker going back to his Quebec junior days. He just hasn’t had a finisher like that riding shotgun.
New York spent the summer reshaping its top six around exactly this kind of pairing:
It fits how Lafreniere closed the season. The Rangers traded Artemi Panarin to the Kings in the second half, and that opened a spot for Lafreniere on the first power-play unit for the first time in his career.
He took off from there. Over his final 27 games, Lafreniere scored 14 goals and 28 points and led the team in scoring across that stretch. He racked up 15 power-play points on the year after never topping six before.
Catch Lafreniere torching the Stars for two goals in a single period:
His full-season line still read 24 goals and 57 points, matching his career high. Zibanejad remains the anchor down the middle after leading the Rangers with 34 goals and 78 points.
The Rangers already made clear they want Lafreniere to be part of the solution, not a trade chip. Give him a full year next to a shooter like Dorofeyev with first-unit minutes, and that 57-point career high starts to look like a floor.
