Can Kakko Continue
Going into this season, Chris Drury took a bit of a gamble. With Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere and Vitali Kravtsov all looking to make progression in their young careers, he had to find room on the roster to give them a chance at meaningful minutes. Ultimately he decided to deal RFA Pavel Buchnevich – who also was due a hefty raise, to the St Louis Blues in exchange for a 2nd round pick and forward Sammy Blais.
The move was controversial at the time, but it did open up a coveted spot in the top six for one of the young guys to step into, and the prime candidate was Kakko, now in his third year in the NHL at just 20 years old.