Inside Kaapo Kakko's resurgence with the Seattle Kraken

The night of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, as the New Jersey Devils took future superstar Jack Hughes number one overall, the thought behind then general manager Jeff Gorton was to match with another superstar.

Welcome to New York Kaapo Kakko.

A highly touted prospect, it was expected that he would make the transition to the NHL and become a franchise winger for the Rangers.

Unfortunately, things haven’t gone his way in the Big Apple.

A rocky start to his NHL career, Kakko has dealt with injuries and inconsistent play which has hindered his development. Not to mention playing for three different head coaches during his time.

In five and a half seasons with New York, Kakko has only played 82 games once. In that lone season he recorded 40 points.

Those aren’t numbers you want to see a growing superstar have in one full season.

To start off the 24-25 season, Kakko registered 14 points in 30 games which averages out to 0.46 points per game.

To compare Kakko with another young star in Alexis Lafrenière who was drafted in 2020, Lafrenière has 24 points in 42 games played.

While those numbers aren’t eye popping, Lafrenière has become a playoff performer, recording 14 points in 16 games in the 2023-2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

To put that in comparison, Kakko had nine points in 44 playoff games with the Rangers.

After a 3-2 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues in which Kakko was a healthy scratch, that’s when he had enough.

Kakko thought he didn’t deserve to be the odd man out as this was the first time he’s been a healthy scratch during the regular season, but the third time in his Rangers tenure after being a healthy scratch in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2022 and 2024.

A week prior, head coach Peter Laviolette traded then Rangers captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. 10 days later, Kakko was traded to the Seattle Kraken for Will Borgen and a third and sixth round draft pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

This trade was met with much rage and disgust from Rangers fans, as a lot of them believed Kakko was never given a fair chance to thrive.

Kakko believed the trade would give him a fresh start. And believe him it did.

In 11 games with the Kraken, Kakko has recorded eight points, three goals and five assists while playing an average of 15 minutes a night.

Between New York and Seattle, he recorded 22 points with a plus-nine at the midway point of the season.

To say he’s doing better a month in Seattle compared to five and a half years in New York is an understatement.

In the month of January, in six games he had five points. His best game came against the Buffalo Sabres where Kakko scored two goals in a 6-2 win at KeyBank Center.

He was rewarded as the first star of the game and he picked up where he left off against the Red Wings, registering an assist in a 6-2 loss.

Head coach Dan Bylsma has high praise for the young Finnish winger, stating how “his ability to play in the offensive zone with the puck is giving Beniers and Schwartz some great opportunities with the puck.”

Kakko turns 24 in February, so the Kraken will have to decide whether to extend him beyond this season as he’s a restricted free agent in 2025. But Seattle likes what they see so far in the young winger.

So was New York the problem?

Ethan Hu is a fourth year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email eth5182@psu.edu