The New York Rangers will have several key free agents in the summer of 2025, one of whom is Kaapo Kakko.
If we are being honest, the second-overall pick from the 2019 NHL Draft has not lived up to the hype that surrounded him heading into his draft year. After having 23 points (10 goals and 13 assists) in his rookie year of 2019-20, his production dipped. It did not help that COVID shortened two seasons and his development.
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In addition, Kakko dealt with injuries playing for the Rangers. However, he succeeded with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere, recording a career-high 40 points (18 goals and 22 assists) in 82 games during the 2022-23 season.
Last season Kakko dealt with injuries and could not follow up his production from the 2022-23 season. He has not found traction in the top six and has become a serviceable third-line player.
Kakko was a restricted free agent this past off-season and immediately signed his qualifying offer of $2.4 million. Like the team, he knows this could be his last shot with the Rangers before moving on to another team.
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As Jim Cerny of Forever Blueshirts told the Full Press NHL Podcast, this is a make-or-break year for the young forward.
I think so. Now or never, at least here in New York,” Cerny said. “He’s still only 23 right? You know, he has a long runway left in his career to still and write his story. But I think here in New York, I think this is the make or break year, And to his credit, there was no messing around with his contract or anything like that. Rangers qualified him at 2.4 shortly thereafter, he just signed for 2.4. He didn’t say, oh, fight for 2.7. He knows he was a massive disappointment last year, right?
While injuries have contributed to his failure to succeed in New York, Kaapo Kakko has not been able to mesh in the top six with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, unlike his “Kid Line” teammate Alexis Lafreniere, who has been able to find success on the second line with Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin.
Kakko will be motivated this season to prove he is not a bust from the 2019 NHL Draft and can play in New York.
And, again, part of it is he missed a quarter of the season with a knee injury. So that factors in as well. This guy’s betting on himself this year. And, well, I think he would welcome a change of scenery. I think he wants to prove it here too, Cerny said. He doesn’t want to be a failure. He doesn’t want to be the second overall pick by the team and one of the biggest markets in the NHL, and fall on his face. Fall on his face is an over-exaggeration of not reaching the expectations, right? So I think he’s going to be super motivated this year.
Sometimes a change of scenery can help or hurt a player depending on the player’s attitude. As we have seen over the years in the NHL, the timelines of the teams and players do not match. Thus, a former high draft is on the move.
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The Rangers know what they have in Kaapo Kakko. If Kakko can’t mesh on the top line, he will be a third-line player with a manageable contract of $2.4 million that can be traded later in the season.
Give Kakko the opportunity again in the top six role start the season that way, knowing you have Reilly Smith there, kind of like you knew you had Blake Wheeler last year. It’s not a sexy option, but he can play there, and he’s been in that role before,” Cerny said. “But give Kakko that opportunity. I think they owe it to themselves to find out. And this, if it goes like it did last year at the beginning of last year, he’s back on the third line. You got your guy at 2.4 million, and your wheels are turning; we got to flip this guy at the deadline or before his next contract at the end of this upcoming season.
The New York Rangers will look to follow up on their last season. There are questions surrounding this roster moving forward, and this team will look different next season.