Alexis LaFreniere's massive seven-year, $52 million extension with the Rangers is in a major move

The overwhelming reality surrounding the Rangers entering the season revolved around a now-or-never opportunity for their core, expiring contracts and tough decisions that await in the spring whenever their pursuit of the Stanley Cup ends.

But they took a critical step toward keeping a piece of that nucleus — and an emerging piece in the middle of a breakout stretch — by agreeing to terms with winger Alexis Lafreniere on a seven-year extension worth just $52 million ($7.45 million annually), a total signing of $11 million. Bonuses and an eight-team no-trade list for the final five years, The Post's Molly Walker reported Friday.

Lafreniere scored four goals after his tally Thursday, and recorded seven points through seven games, carrying over his success from the previous postseason when he tied for the Rangers lead with eight goals in his fifth NHL campaign.

The extension will run through the 2031-32 season, a significant bump from the AAV of $2.325 million in 2024-25 — the final year of the two-year extension signed as a restricted free agent. Before last season.

The deal marked the beginning of a Lafreniere revival under head coach Peter Laviolette in 2023–24, who gave him a top-six role alongside Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck and saw Lafreniere's career highs set for goals, assists, points, games played. , shots on goal, average ice time — pretty much everything.

After being selected by the Rangers No. 1 overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lafreniere's early taste of the professional level was mostly about what he didn't do.

About expectations, realistic or not, that he did not meet. About the roles he played and the ones he didn't fully realize.

But then he followed up the progress in the regular season with his postseason breakout. On 7 May his two goals helped the Rangers to a 2–0 lead against the Hurricanes.

Two more helped the Rangers to a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference finals against the Panthers two and a half weeks later.

There was a puck tucked into the upper-right corner from the left slot. The time he skated in front of the net and tipped in a pass from outside the crease. There were highlight-reel shots — like against Carolina, when he flipped the puck behind goaltender Frederik Andersen — paired with crisp movement with the puck and suggested it was far from a fluke.

This was where Lafreniere discovered some comfort and glimpses of his potential.

“It's a good league – the best league in the world – and you have to adjust,” Lafreniere told Walker earlier this month. “Just tried to trust the process and play your game and have a good attitude. Be patient.”

So far, through a seven-game sample in 2024-25, Lafreniere continues to fulfill his role as an indispensable forward in the Rangers top-six.

Ice time with their top power-play unit has yet to follow. This is yet another step to unlocking the 23-year-old.

But he has collected one point in each game except Tuesday's win over the Canadiens.

And two nights later against the Panthers, after two nights without a scoring log, he leaned toward the net behind the play, collected a pass from Adam Fox, drove around Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and backhanded the puck into the net. In the first period.

Yet, as recently as that goal, Lafreniere's tenure with the Rangers had an expiration date.

He'll still become an unrestricted free agent if nothing happens, even if his play over the past 13 months suggests that might be an unlikely scenario.

“I love it here,” Lafreniere told Walker earlier this month. “Great place to be. Obviously, great team every year. Great teammates, great city.

Then, the No. 1 overall pick on the Rangers roster was paid like one. It may be last call for some at Rangers, but not for Lafreniere.