Trending News: New York Rangers key player Confirmed dead after being missing for two weeks…….…see more…

Lafrenière morphed into one of the five forwards Laviolette leaned on and trusted the most, along with veterans Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad. He ranked third among that group in total goals with 28 and second behind only Panarin with 26 at even strength.

That was, in part, due to his promotion into a steady top-six role on the NHL’s highest scoring line with Panarin and Trocheck, which Lafrenière repeatedly credited for his success. But the foundation was laid during an offseason spent developing what his personal trainer and strength coach Stéphane Dubé referred to as “separation speed.”

“His confidence, to me, grew the entire year,” the Blueshirts’ head coach said at breakup day on June 4. “I certainly would like to see that build next year as he takes on more responsibility and looks to grow from this year. It was a really, really good year for him, and we’re hoping he’ll be better next year.”

By improving his skating, the 6-foot-1, 194-pounder was able to create more space to let his world-class skill shine. And when the ice inevitably got tight, his added lower-body strength helped him work into key scoring areas. His 92 individual high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five ranked first on the team, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Lafrenière looks poised build on those numbers in his age-23 season, particularly if the Rangers make good on their plans to increase his power-play time and overall usage.

The playoffs bolstered his case, with his eight even-strength goals and 56.31% xGF across the 16 games both leading the team by significant margins.

While stars like Kreider, Panarin and Zibanejad went quiet in the Eastern Conference Final, Lafrenière registered team highs in goals (four), shots (17) and scoring chances (20) for the series while ranking second to Trocheck in hits (24) and committing only one giveaway. (Panarin and Zibanejad combined for 20.)