The mighty New York Rangers– last year’s President’s Trophy winners– have dropped three games in a row. They’re 3-11 in their last 14 games. So, what do they do? Well, just ten days after trading their captain, the Rangers have made yet another trade.
The Kaapo Kakko era has come to an end in New York. Earlier tonight, it was announced that the Rangers had traded Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for depth defenseman Will Borgen, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick.
Kakko was taken with the second-overall pick in the 2019 NHL draft, but hasn’t lived up to the expectations of his high draft position. This trade has been a long time coming, but things escalated this past week. Kakko was healthy scratched against the St. Louis Blues last Saturday, and when he met with the media on Tuesday, he didn’t filter his thoughts.
Kakko is 23, and has 14 points in 30 games this season. He has 61 goals and a total of 131 points through 330 career NHL games. Here are my grades for how each team fared in this trade:
Seattle’s Grade: B+
Seattle made out like a bandit here. Sure, Kakko hasn’t yet lived up to the lofty expectations that come with being a highly drafted player, but the Kraken acquired him for peanuts. And, of course, should he find his form in Seattle, this trade looks even better. Even though Kakko didn’t bring the offensive production that New York clearly wanted from him, he has a strong defensive game. He’s young, fast, and will likely fit in well in Seattle.
Kakko won’t be the first player looking to find a fresh start in Seattle. Previously, the Kraken helped former first-rounders Jared McCann and Eeli Tolvanen establish themselves in the league. So, if any team can help Kakko become the player he was touted as in pre-draft scouting… it’s probably the Kraken.
New York’s Grade: D
Things aren’t going too well in Rangersland. Kakko undoubtedly needed a fresh start, but this is just atrocious asset management. The Rangers just traded their second-overall pick in 2019 for a depth defenseman and two draft picks. Don’t get me wrong, I like Will Borgen. He’s physical, and he loves to shoot the puck. But this isn’t the return you’d like to get for a player who was drafted second-overall.
Call me crazy, but this isn’t going to magically fix the New York Rangers. Kakko wasn’t scoring goals. So what? He was far from New York’s biggest issue. The biggest issue plaguing the Rangers is their complete inability to defend, and they just traded away one of the few players who committed to team defense.
