Lafreniere, speaking publicly for the first time since the deal was announced Friday night, said he was “happy to be done with it, and fired up to stay for seven years.’’ Currently playing in the final season of the two-year bridge deal he signed in 2023, he said it was nice to get a new contract settled early, so now he can focus on the season.

Alexis Lafreniere signed a seven-year, $52.15 million contract with the New York Rangers on Friday. The contract, which has an average annual value of $7.45 million, will begin next season.

It’s been a news-filled couple of days around the National Hockey League. A young player committed long-term to one of the best teams in the league, the Penguins sent their starting netminder on a conditioning stint,

Several reports said the agreement carries an average annual value of $7.45 million along with limited trade protection in the later years of the deal.

The New York Rangers have signed winger Alexis Lafrenière to a seven-year contract extension. A person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press it is worth $52.15 million.

But the 23-year-old Lafreniere is getting attention from everywhere in the NHL now, not just in French Canada. The former No. 1 overall pick had a pretty big crowd around him at the Rangers’ morning skate Saturday in Toronto,

Alexis Lafreniere did not practice with the team on Monday, but the Rangers wing skated on his own afterward. Despite the Rangers saying Lafreniere is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the 23-year-old did not look hampered during his individual session.