It certainly is. Imagine choosing to sign a contract in Ohio. Calgary must be pretty bad.
- JRR1285

one of worst decisions Ive ever seen

I agree on that end. Once Karlsson inked that deal I was like: "Thank (frank)ing christ that wasn't the Rangers".
- JRR1285

Yea agreed. Doug Wilson got fired probably because of it

You’re dead to me 😔
- Slimtj100

Come on.


This was basically us trying to convince everyone that it was a good idea:

It certainly is. Imagine choosing to sign a contract in Ohio. Calgary must be pretty bad.
- JRR1285

New Jersey man wants to home. Said man picks Ohio.

one of worst decisions Ive ever seen
- jimbro83

"I've decided I'm gonna take my talents to a flyover state".

I still think it is too early to tell. While he should have shown more flashes he has been completely blocked by veterans. We need to see him show something with Kreider down. I am starting to run out of optimism.
- JRR1285

I just haven't seen anything that shouts "dynamic". He isn't going to beat many players in a foot race. Haven't seen amazing puck handling skills. I like him and think he could be more of a pest player like a Tkachuk. He just has to change his style. I think he is caught trying to live up to the #1 pick thing

shooting percentage 7.1% this year

after being 17% his first two years

he's also only had 247 shots on goal in 176 career games

he doesnt shoot enough
- jimbro83

His decision making has just been bad, sign of a player with zero confidence. I see him trying to do things but he looks lost often. He needs to just keep going to the shooting areas and rip them.

I just haven't seen anything that shouts "dynamic". He isn't going to beat many players in a foot race. Haven't seen amazing puck handling skills. I like him and think he could be more of a pest player like a Tkachuk. He just has to change his style. I think he is caught trying to live up to the #1 pick thing
- mdw7413

I'd like to see him getting angry once in awhile, people always say he's gonna get disgruntled, everytime I see Lafreniere he's in a jolly mood

the #1 pick thing doesnt look like it weighs on him enough IMO

Kakko at least shows frustration

Come on.


This was basically us trying to convince everyone that it was a good idea:


- JRR1285

At the time we didn’t have Fox yet if I recall. Def not Schneider. Maybe not even Trouba

I just haven't seen anything that shouts "dynamic". He isn't going to beat many players in a foot race. Haven't seen amazing puck handling skills. I like him and think he could be more of a pest player like a Tkachuk. He just has to change his style. I think he is caught trying to live up to the #1 pick thing
- mdw7413

Issue is he is caught trying to live up to the #1 thing without being given the opportunity other #1's almost always get. All the playing and PP time even if they have issues. This team is trying to win every game, player development be damned. He should have been sent to the AHL but we can't hindsight this one too much. Were they ever gonna do that?

I'd like to see him getting angry once in awhile, people always say he's gonna get disgruntled, everytime I see Lafreniere he's in a jolly mood

the #1 pick thing doesnt look like it weighs on him enough IMO

Kakko at least shows frustration
- jimbro83

I think that is his outward appearance because he is trying to display poise and calmness. I too want to see him just lose it and get angry. Show some frustration.

I think it weighs on him more than any of us could imagine.

Issue is he is caught trying to live up to the #1 thing without being given the opportunity other #1's almost always get. All the playing and PP time even if they have issues. This team is trying to win every game, player development be damned. He should have been sent to the AHL but we can't hindsight this one too much. Were they ever gonna do that?
- JRR1285

because of the pandemic there was no AHL to send him down to when season started in 2021, it started a month later than NHL

and then last season I think he played really well second half and solid playoffs

I am really shocked he didnt take off this season

At the time we didn’t have Fox yet if I recall. Def not Schneider. Maybe not even Trouba
- Slimtj100

Trouba was signed a couple days later. I'd take Trouba any day over what Karlsson got.

I think that is his outward appearance because he is trying to display poise and calmness. I too want to see him just lose it and get angry. Show some frustration.

I think it weighs on him more than any of us could imagine.
- JRR1285

Resists posting snarky Drury scenario.

I'd like to see him getting angry once in awhile, people always say he's gonna get disgruntled, everytime I see Lafreniere he's in a jolly mood

the #1 pick thing doesnt look like it weighs on him enough IMO

Kakko at least shows frustration
- jimbro83

Kakko has better foot speed and puck handling. And yeah he shows way more emotion. His look when he scored on the botched shootout attempt

I just think Laf is trying to be something he could get away with in the Q and cant in the NHL. He has a great shot and is strong. He needs to style his game that way.

because of the pandemic there was no AHL to send him down to when season started in 2021, it started a month later than NHL

and then last season I think he played really well second half and solid playoffs

I am really shocked he didnt take off this season
- jimbro83

All good points. I think they let him pass that game limit cutoff for waivers expecting him to figure it out. Unfortunately he didn't.

I still think there is a ton of potential there, and they may get it for cheap for a little bit.

Kakko has better foot speed and puck handling. And yeah he shows way more emotion. His look when he scored on the botched shootout attempt

I just think Laf is trying to be something he could get away with in the Q and cant in the NHL. He has a great shot and is strong. He needs to style his game that way.
- mdw7413

That's the thing. Kakko was supposed to have worse skating than Laf. Lafreniere was said not to possess elite speed, but was still above average. We aren't seeing it simply because his decision making is slow. I think his physical abilities are hiding behind poor decisions.

Resists posting snarky Drury scenario.
- tomburton99

Please just post it. I don't want to try and figure it out.

+/- is a terrible metric to judge anyone on. He's played on a dog shit team with dog shit goaltending and even more dog shit scoring over the last four seasons
- eichiefs9

So he played on the Erie Dog Shit?

Please just post it. I don't want to try and figure it out.
- JRR1285

All this just leads to Drury trading Laf to Anaheim for Brett Leason and 2nd in the off season.

All this just leads to Drury trading Laf to Anaheim for Brett Leason and 2nd in the off season.
- tomburton99

Oh, (frank) you.

That's the thing. Kakko was supposed to have worse skating than Laf. Lafreniere was said not to possess elite speed, but was still above average. We aren't seeing it simply because his decision making is slow. I think his physical abilities are hiding behind poor decisions.
- JRR1285

I just see more of a grinder with a really good shot with him. Nothing wrong with that either. One of my all time favorites was Graves and that was basically his game. Wasnt the best skater or puck handler, but was strong on his skates, battled, and had great hands.

Oh, (frank) you.
- JRR1285

JVR i could get behind.
- mdw7413

Good God. I can only imagine the kind of female doging that would go on here about JVR. I don't see how he fits our team. We are struggling to keep up with faster teams already. So, let's add a player who skating profile is akin to Dave Andreychuk??
I heard he petitioned the league to be exempted from the offside rule.