The Rangers last night traded 23 year old Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen and two picks. The move comes as GM Chris Drury continues to deal with the fall-out of a team in an uncontrolled spiral, and just one day after Kakko expressed his frustration at being a healthy scratch against the St Louis Blues.
Like the Jacob Trouba trade last month, this was a case of unfinished business from last Summer that saw Kakko sign a team-friendly one year contract, presumably to help enable a move. To Kakko’s credit, he started the season well on pace for 50-60 points as part of a strong line combination with Will Cuylle and Filip Chytil. While he wasn’t the leader of that line, he was able to find ways to contribute and was part of one of the best line-combinations in the league in terms of GF and xGF.
Unfortunately he hasn’t been able to sustain that pace, and has been part of a broader malaise that has enveloped the club, leading up to the move finally being executed. Also factoring into the equation is Kakko’s contract status for next year, where he’d be probably expect a raise and term under an already challenging Cap scenario following large increases to Alexis Lafreniere and Igor Shesterkin that kick in next year.
As for this six seasons with the Rangers, it’s been a case of wanting more from the Finn. His rookie season showed some promising offense, but significant gaps defensively. He pivoted towards a more defensive mindset, often being amongst the better analytical players in that respect, but at the same time his offensive ability never seemed to take a step back. A combination of injuries – of which there have been several – and a lack of confidence or maybe patience – from the coaching staff, further put him on the back foot.
Perhaps unsurprisingly his best stints have come when he’s been in relatively settled roles with Chytil and one of either Lafreniere or Cuylle. In a third line role he typically saw less challenging opponents, and was a good complement to Chytil’s speed and knack to drive the play, along with Lafreniere and then Cuylle’s ability to find areas to score from.
How Kakko’s career moves forward from here is difficult to determine, but on a Seattle team that lacks offensive depth, he should get more opportunities to play on the power play, and perhaps too on the penalty kill, things that were blocked for him in New York.
In Will Borgen, the Rangers bring in an underperforming defensive defenseman who brings size and solid skating, but with limited offensive ability. As an impending UFA, Drury will have the option of trying to resign him (albeit he’s probably too expensive to resign as a third pair d-man), or potentially flipping him again at the deadline to try and replenish some of the many picks he’s dealt over the years.
The return feels a little underwhelming, which perhaps reflects on Drury’s weakened negotiating position and the drawn out nature of the negotiations. If he hasn’t learned by now, then going to other teams trying to move a player immediately puts him at a disadvantage.
It would be surprising if Drury is done with the trading, though he did meet with the team and coaching staff today in an effort to mend some of the ill will that has developed between the players and management/ownership.
We’ll get to see if that makes a difference tomorrow against the Stars, as well as Will Borgen’s debut for the team