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Blackhawks News: Alexis Lafreniere should be a target now

By Vincent Parise

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 13: Alexis Lafrenière #13 of the New York Rangers during the game against the Arizona Coyotes on November 13, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 13: Alexis Lafrenière #13 of the New York Rangers during the game against the Arizona Coyotes on November 13, 2022 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Blackhawks are a team building for the future. They are trying to be as bad as possible which will allow them to get one of the top-four prospects in the 2023 NHL Draft. So far, they are executing that plan perfectly.

They should also be looking around the league to try and get good young players to add to the organization. One person that they should be targeting is Alexis Lafreniere. He was the number one overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft as he was selected by the New York Rangers.

Lafreniere had a lot of hype while playing for the Rimouski Oceanic as he dominated up until he was drafted. The Rangers lost the lottery after losing the play-in round of the COVID bubble that saw the NHL finish the 2019-20 season there.

Since coming to the NHL, Lafreniere has had a tough go of it. He has not at all lived up to the hype that came with him. Not only that, but at least 10 players drafted after him have been much better since coming into the league. It has been challenging.

The Chicago Blackhawks could use a player like Alexis Lafreniere right now.

On Thursday night, the Rangers are going to make Lafreniere a healthy scratch which is not a good sign of his status in the organization. They don’t believe that he currently gives them the best chance to win so they are sitting him.

As a result, the other 31 teams in the league should be going after him and that includes the Chicago Blackhawks. Adding a young forward like that with all this talent would help them grow their depth. A change of scenery might help Lafreniere grow to his potential.

Everyone expects every top draft pick to be Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews because they were so good right away. However, kids like Nico Hischier, Rasmus Dahlin, and Jack Hughes took time before becoming stars in the league. That is much more realistic.

There are a lot of ways a Lafreniere trade could go if the Rangers decided to go that route but the Blackhawks should certainly be working the phones to see if that is likely.

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