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In Hainsight: Is it April Fools' Day? |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
I was browsing Twitter yesterday and I came across something that made me spit out the mouthful of Pepsi I had just taken. Georges Laraque said that he would, without any hesitation, trade the Canadiens’ 1st round pick (their own one, not the Panthers’ one) to the Rangers for Alexis Lafrenière.
I’m sorry, but there’s just no way in hell I would even entertain that thought. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying Lafrenière is a bust (unlike some people who are already calling him the biggest disappointment since Alexandre Daigle), but I do not think this would be a good move for the organization. Lafrenière is going to improve on what he’s shown so far, but I highly doubt the fishbowl market that is Montreal would be the best place for him to do so.
In 216 NHL games, Lafrenière has got 91 points and there are those who believe that his development was slowed down by the logjam in front of him in the Rangers’ top-6, but it’s not a new concept that a rookie has got to earn both his opportunities and his ice-time. I mean go back to the to the 70s, Guy Lafleur wasn’t just given first-line duty, he had to earn it, make his way up the line-up, that’s the way it goes. The same can be said in Montreal these days as well.
Chances are, Alexis Lafrenière’s confidence is probably not very high right now, especially since he was completely kept off the scoresheet in the Rangers’ first round series against the Devils, no points, no penalties, nothing he was a non-factor. Montreal being what it is, if he was to be brought in, the media would build a lot of unrealistic expectations and the fans would end up expecting that their saviour has arrived and that would be completely unfair.
When he would fail to live up to those expectation, both the fans and the medias would come hard at him with boos, criticisms, and unreasonable behavior. Is that what the 21-year-old needs to come into his own? I highly doubt that. While I do understand that some people consider it important to have Quebecers on the team, often, they end up being the whipping boy. Just think of Patrice Brisebois, David Desharnais and more recently Jonathan Drouin. It takes a lot of maturity to be able to handle that and even for a player that is established in the league, it’s not easy, so for a player who’s trying to find his footing? It’s even worst…
Furthermore, considering how deep the draft is and how talented the top 5-6 prospects are reported to be, I’d much rather bet on one of these guys than risk putting Lafrenière in an ill-advised position and hope for the best. Speaking of the draft, the lottery is now only 4 days away and I confess that I’m using Tankathon everyday to simulate it. Today, the Canadiens came out on top, fingers crossed that’s what happens on the 8th…
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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