🏒@HockeyBangers2026-27 projections

Overview

@HockeyBangers

2026-27 Projection

Alex Laferriere

LAK · Age 24.8 · 🇺🇸 USA · 6′0″, 173 lb · Draft 2020, 83rd overall (L.A)
LAKteam
C,LW,RWposition
41position rank
127skater rank
57overall
-14offense
71peripherals

Value over replacement, based on 82 games played.
Ideal for H2H 12-team banger category leagues, 16 roster spots.

Per 82 GP2026-27projection adj2025-2682 GPH242 GPH140 GPPrev 3158 GP · 2y
TOI18.1618.3118.5316.1414.83
PP TOI1.841.691.811.561.14
G2121231816
A2223252218
PTS4344484034
PPP55824
SOG215209226191176
PIM2518181834
Hits240255279230123
Blocks5249534536

Sample: 82 GP · 1,149 5v5 min (2025-26) — how much ice time backs these rates

Positional rankingCentre · league-wide (of 271)
offenseperipheralsvalue over replacement

Counts = projected deployment × projected /60 rate, per 82 GP. Rates regress off the process metric (ixG, shot-driving), not last year's finishing %. PP points = projected PP rate (anchored on the 2nd-half PP1 role, finishing regressed) × projected PP TOI.

Context-adjusted (▲/▼ vs the rate-model baseline): Hits set to 240. His hit rate jumped from 5.8 per 60 to 10.2 in 2025-26, worth 255 per 82 games, and the engine shrinks that to 217 because the peripheral base rate still gives 40% weight to the 3 prior years. Our own persistence testing says big hit swings hold about 80% of the time, so most of that step should carry. 240 sits below both his own 255 and the external 267, leaving room for the chance that part of the jump is rink and scorekeeper bias, and for his move down to the third line. Shots trimmed to 215, just under his 2024-26 pace of 206 to 208, since 231 would be a career high he hasn't earned yet.

Metrics worth highlighting

The charts that move this projection — where he broke from his own 3-year rate, where the season split in half, and where we’re taking the number next year
Second-half surge
PP SOG/60
3-yr 11.6520.10Q1Q2Q3Q4

PP SOG/60 finished the year 150% above where it started (6.69 in the first half, 20.69 in the second). The projection leans on how the season ended, so the second half counts for more.

Second-half surge
PP ixG/60
3-yr 1.965.34Q1Q2Q3Q4

PP ixG/60 finished the year 148% above where it started (1.75 in the first half, 4.33 in the second). The projection leans on how the season ended, so the second half counts for more.

Above his 3-year rate
Hits/60
12.1622-2323-2424-2525-26

Hits/60 ran 84% above his 3-year rate last season (12.16 against 6.62).

Above his 3-year rate
PP TOI
1.8422-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

PP TOI ran 48% above his 3-year rate last season (1.69 against 1.14).

Picked automatically from every chart on this card, ranked by how far each number moved. Each claim is measured off the chart drawn beside it.

Similar & complementary players

Similar makeup Forward
Closest across all seven categories — match % is the whole-profile fit
Complementary Forward
Same position, opposite profile — strong where Alex Laferriere is weak or average, light where he’s strong
Profile shape — per-82 category values vs the league p99 for the position (same scale as the hero bars)
This player
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
the profile below
vs Similar
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
similar players hug the shape
vs Complementary
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
complements fill the gaps

Deployment

Deployment projection — next-year TOI & PP TOI vs the last two years (the role that drives every count)
Coaching
2026-27 · Peter Laviolette (LAK) new voice
Last year: Jim Hiller Q1-Q4 · fired Mar → D.J. Smith interim · end Q4 — in-season change
Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
TOI18.1618.3114.83+23%
5v5 TOI14.5714.0213.20+6%
PP TOI1.841.691.14+48%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 22 · 20
TOI*
3-yr 14.8319.57Q1Q2Q3Q4
5v5 TOI
3-yr 13.2015.53Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP TOI
3-yr 1.142.39Q1Q2Q3Q4
*Total TOI by quarter reconstructs 5v5+PP quarterly totals plus a held-flat season PK/GP — NST has no all-strength quarterly export. Level is accurate; quarter-to-quarter movement comes from 5v5+PP.
By season — year over year
TOI
18.1622-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
5v5 TOI
14.5722-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
PP TOI
1.8422-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

Shooting — volume & conversion

How much and how well he shoots — volume (SOG), finishing (% vs chance quality), and the individual shot-quality funnel (iCF ⊇ iSCF ⊇ iHDCF).

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
SOG/608.408.408.37+0%
G/600.830.840.80+5%
iSH%9.8510.009.60+4%
ixG/600.960.96+0%
iCF/6019.5217.90+9%
iSCF/6011.4310.19+12%
iHDCF/605.064.49+13%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 22 · 20
SOG/60
3-yr 8.376.96Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSH%
3-yr 9.608.33Q1Q2Q3Q4
ixG/60
3-yr 0.960.91Q1Q2Q3Q4
iCF/60
3-yr 17.9018.16Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSCF/60
3-yr 10.199.66Q1Q2Q3Q4
iHDCF/60
3-yr 4.494.83Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
SOG/60
8.4022-2323-2424-2525-26
iSH%
10.0022-2323-2424-2525-26
ixG/60
0.9622-2323-2424-2525-26
iCF/60
19.5222-2323-2424-2525-26
iSCF/60
11.4322-2323-2424-2525-26
iHDCF/60
5.0622-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
G
2122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
SOG
21522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextFinishing looks earned: iSH% 10.0% sits near the 9.6% 3-yr mark with 5v5 ixG/60 0.96 (92nd pct league-wide) — goals held close to last year.

Assists — playmaking & on-ice offense

Primary vs secondary helpers, plus the on-ice offense and luck signals underneath them.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
on-ice SH%8.738.748.72+0%
IPP69.2572.2463.64+14%
1A/600.500.420.52-19%
2A/600.380.520.29+81%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 22 · 20
1A/60
3-yr 0.520.77Q1Q2Q3Q4
2A/60
3-yr 0.290.77Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
1A/60
0.4222-2323-2424-2525-26
2A/60
0.5222-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
A
2222-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
PTS
4322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextAssist environment looks normal (on-ice SH% 8.7%, IPP 72.2%).
TailwindShot-driving up (5v5 iCF/60 19.52 vs 17.90) — real creation underneath, so don't over-regress the helpers.
TailwindHigh-danger setups up (iHDCF/60 5.06 vs 4.49) — the dangerous chances that turn into primary assists are trending up.
RiskAssist gain leans on secondary helpers (2A/60 0.52 vs 3-yr 0.29) — the least repeatable slice; projected back toward baseline.

Power play

PP opportunity and finishing — modelled separately from 5v5.

Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PP TOI1.841.691.14+48%
PP iSH%7.159.105.74+58%
PP SOG/6018.3214.2911.65+23%
PP ixG/603.301.96+68%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 22 · 20
PP TOI/GP
3-yr 1.142.39Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP SOG/60
3-yr 11.6520.10Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP ixG/60
3-yr 1.965.34Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PP TOI/GP
1.6922-2323-2424-2525-26
PP SOG/60
14.2922-2323-2424-2525-26
PP ixG/60
3.3022-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PPP
522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPG
222-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPA
322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. PPG and PPA are the 2 halves of the PPP above them, split by the projection's own goal/assist mix. PP-only, so the halves are exact.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindPP role projected up: 1.7→1.8 PP TOI/gp (new coach (Peter Laviolette) — late-year 2.1 role discounted until the new staff sets usage) — the biggest PPP lever.
TailwindPP chance quality up (PP ixG/60 3.30 vs 1.96) — a real process gain, the kind that sustains PP points.

Physical — PIM · hits · blocks

Peripheral counting categories. Noisier and scorer-biased — read as role over the years, not pure talent.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PIMs/600.910.731.84-60%
Hits/609.9412.166.62+84%
Blks/601.891.831.98-8%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  21 · 19 · 22 · 20
PIMs/60
3-yr 1.840.39Q1Q2Q3Q4
Hits/60
3-yr 6.6213.14Q1Q2Q3Q4
Blks/60
3-yr 1.981.35Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PIMs/60
0.7322-2323-2424-2525-26
Hits/60
12.1622-2323-2424-2525-26
Blks/60
1.8322-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PIM
2522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
HITS
24022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
BLK
5222-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindKeep a high hits floor and raise the scoring baseline on a bigger role. · Fantasy deep-dive analysis
TailwindElite hits volume (90th pct) and role-stable — a bankable hits floor (9.94/60 projected).
ContextBlocks role-stable at 1.83/60 (27th pct league-wide) → 1.89 projected.