It's almost automatic: when you hear the name Alexis Lafrenière, you associate it with the Habs. The Quebecer is slow to make his mark in the NHL, but he's still very young. However, even though the Rangers are well aware of the need for patience in his case, their precarious payroll situation could force them to part with him. Rumour has it that his next destination is Chicago, with a certain Connor Bedard. Indeed, according to Rob Ellis of <i>NHL Trade Rumors</i>, the Blackhawks would be willing to give Lukas Reichel and a 1st-round pick in exchange, which is very interesting for the Rangers. Lafrenière would automatically become a top-three player, and probably a top player alongside Connor Bedard, while the Rangers would have two good prospects who wouldn't be counting on their payroll right away. The best of both worlds. <blockquote class=twitter-tweet><p lang=en dir=ltr>Alexis Lafreniere playing with Connor Bedard?<a href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/blackhawks?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#blackhawks</a> <a href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/nyr?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#nyr</a> <a href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/nhl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#nhl</a> <a href=https://twitter.com/hashtag/nhltraderumors?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>#nhltraderumors</a><a href=https://t.co/cLHmgTKfNW>https://t.co/cLHmgTKfNW</a>- NHL Trade Rumors (@nhltraderumours) <a href=https://twitter.com/nhltraderumours/status/1677713131055767554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw>July 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src=https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js charset=utf-8> Credit: <a href='https://www.marqueur.com/news/index.php?no=255364' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Marqueur.com</a>