The New York Rangers will have several important free agents in the summer of 2025, one of them being Kaapo Kakko.
To be fair, the second overall pick from the 2019 NHL Draft did not live up to the hype that surrounded him entering his draft year. After having 23 points (10 goals and 13 assists) in his 2019-20 rookie year, his production declined. It didn’t help that COVID cut two seasons short of his development.
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In addition, Kakko suffered injuries while 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 in the 2022-23 season.
Last season Kakko struggled with injuries and was unable to follow up his production in the 2022-23 season. He has yet to score in the top six and is still the third-ranked player.
Kakko was a restricted free agent this past season and immediately signed his $2.4 million qualifying offer. 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 the Forever Blueshirts told the Full Press NHL Podcast, this is a make-or-break year for the young player.
I think so. Now or never, at least here in New York,” Cerny said. “You’re only 23 years old? You know, he has a long way to go in his career to keep quiet and write his story. But I think here in New York, I think this is a make or break year, And to his credit, there was no messing around with his contract or anything like that. The Rangers made him eligible for 2.4 shortly after that, and he recently signed for 2.4. He didn’t say, oh, I fought for 2.7. You know that you were disappointed last year, right?
Although injuries contributed to his failure to succeed in New York, Kaapo Kakko was unable to enter the top six with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, unlike his “Kid Line” teammate Alexis Lafreniere, who was able to find success. second row with Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin.
Kakko will be motivated this season to prove that he is not a 2019 NHL Draft pick and can play in New York.
And, again, part of it is that he missed a quarter of the season with a knee injury. So that includes it as well. This guy is 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, said Cerny. He doesn’t want to be a failure. He doesn’t want to be the second player selected by the team and the big markets in the NHL, and fall flat on his face. Falling flat on your face is an extreme exaggeration of not meeting expectations, right? So I think you will have a lot of motivation this year.
Sometimes changing location can help or hurt the player depending on the player’s situation. As we have seen over the years in the NHL, the timelines of teams and players are not the same. So, the top front frame is on its way.
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The rangers know what they have at Kaapo Kakko. If Kakko can’t break into the top line, he’ll be a third-stringer with a manageable $2.4 million contract that can be traded later in the season.
Give Kakko a chance and in the first six roles to start the season like that, you know you have Reilly Smith there, just like you knew you had Blake Wheeler last year. It’s not an attractive option, but he can play there, and he’s been in that role before,” said Cerny. “But give Kakko that chance. I think they owe it to themselves to find out. And this, if it goes as it did last year at the beginning of last year, you will return to the third line. You got your boy at 2.4 million, and your wheels are turning; we have to replace this guy at the deadline or before his next contract at the end of this coming season.
The New York Rangers will look to follow through on their final season. There are questions about this roster going forward, and this team will look different next season.
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