Five Potential Trade Options for Kaapo Kakko
After being unceremoniously healthy scratched against St. Louis, could Kaapo Kakko finally be on his way out of New York? Here's a look at five trade possibilities for the former second overall pick.
At the time of writing this, Kaapo Kakko isn’t officially on the trade block nor has he officially requested a move, but it’s hard not to believe the writing is on the wall here. The former second overall draft pick in 2019, a title that will forever haunt his expectations in New York, hasn’t had the easiest road to navigate through the start of his NHL career. Between COVID, jumping onto a team in the midst of an expedited rebuild process, injuries, several different coaching staffs, and the pressures of New York on top of it, things haven’t panned out in the most ideal fashion for the 23-year old winger.
There was plenty of talk throughout the summer that he may not even make it to training camp as it felt like the Rangers gave him his qualifying for the sole purpose of making him more tradeable. This was largely a result of, for the second time in three years, the coaching staff (a completely different set of coaches, at that) deciding to scratch him in the Eastern Conference Final. Whether or not those decisions were fully warranted can be debated, but this brings us to the team’s most recent outing. Sunday Night in St. Louis, Peter Laviolette decided to scratch Kakko for the reason of “getting fresh legs in the lineup.” Again, you can argue the playoff decisions all you want, but there is zero reason that Kakko should have been the player to come out of that lineup this weekend.
The Rangers best line to start the season was undoubtedly that Cuylle-Chytil-Kakko line that was borderline unbeatable at 5v5 play, to the point where it took almost a quarter of the season for that combination of forwards to even let up a goal against when they were on the ice. Regardless of what line he was on, Kakko has been off to one of his best starts in his tenure as a Ranger and was showing signs that he was on the brink of that breakout season we saw from Alexis Lafrenière last year. While his play has seen a slight drop off, as pretty much everyone's has in recent showings, Kakko was still far from the team’s biggest problem. The fact that the coaching staff not only scratched him, but essentially went out of their way to do so seeing as Artemiy Panarin was already out of the lineup with an injury, seems likely the final nail in the coffin. Kaapo Kakko very well may be on his way out of New York.
It bears repeating that there hasn’t been any official updates on the matter but at this point, you have to think it’s a poorly kept secret and, frankly, I wouldn’t blame him for wanting out. Has Kaapo Kakko lived up to the expectations that come with being a second overall pick? Probably not. Does that mean he’s not an effective NHL player? Definitely not. He’s shown flashes of being an effective middle six forward that can drive play in the offensive zone, work hard to make plays in the dirty areas and generate scoring chances at even strength. Not to mention, there's potential for him to really improve if given more run on special teams.
Individual efforts aside, this team is reaching catastrophic levels of panic and, as such, trading Kakko may make the most sense. Will Cuylle has taken a significant step, they have Brett Berard champing at the bit for more of a role with this team, not to mention Gabe Perreault or Brennan Othmann waiting in the wings.
If Kaapo Kakko can be the centerpiece of a trade that makes the Rangers a better team right now, you have to explore that avenue. The question is, what can the Rangers do? With that in mind, here are 5 potential trade targets the Rangers should explore involving Kaapo Kakko.
