The New York Rangers Not Allowing Alexis Lafreniere To Play At The World Juniors Is A Crime Against Humanity
Mike Stobe. Getty Images.As an American who always wants to see Team USA bring home the gold in this tournament, obviously there's a small piece of me that is pretty pumped about Lafreniere not being able to suit up for Canada later this month. Same goes for Kaapo Kakko and Team Finland.
But as a fan of the World Juniors and a guy who is starting to think that the 2021 NHL season is in serious jeopardy, this is a gigantic crock of horse shit. So much so that I think Hockey Canada needs to get Justin Trudeau involved here.
I get that the Rangers would be a little worried about their 1st overall draft pick getting injured right before the season starts in a junior hockey tournament. And he did get a little banged up in last year's tournament. But just imagine the Rangers tell Hockey Canada to frig off about sending Lafreniere to the World Juniors, then January 1st rolls around the NHL still hasn't figured out their plans to play a season this year, and then we have to wait a whole entire year before we get to see Lafreniere play hockey again. Federal crime!
Do the right thing here, Jeff Gorton. Let your kid get one last crack at the World Juniors, he'll put up like a hundred goals, he'll come into the NHL season with a ton of confidence, and everybody wins at the end of the day. And while we're talking about Metropolitan Division teams being dicks about the World Juniors, you really have to start wondering if the New Jersey Devils are anti-America. Not sending Jack Hughes to the tournament seems like treason to me. If you support the Devils, you support communism.