The Seattle Kraken have acquired forward Kaapo Kakko from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenceman Will Borgen, a 2025 third round pick, and a 2026 sixth round pick.
The deal brings an end to Kakko’s up and down tenure with the Rangers, one which began to sour this season as the young forward began voicing his displeasure with his usage, and being a healthy scratch. New York made little effort to hide the fact that they’ve been looking to shake up their roster following a slow start to the 2024-25 NHL campaign, so the Kakko deal doesn’t come as a surprise to many.
“We’ve been kicking tires on different things and with (Jordan Eberle) out, we’re short on the right side,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. “This guy gives us somebody that can play the right wing. He’s a big boy, and he’s got some skills. So, we thought it was the right move to make.”
“Kaapo is a young dynamic forward who brings skill and offense to our club,” Francis continued. “We’re excited to have him join us.”
Kakko, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound winger has four goals and 10 assists in 30 games this season. Two seasons prior, the Finnish forward tallied 18 goals and added 22 assists for a career-high 40 points over a full 82 game season. While he’s shown flashes of brilliance in the Big Apple, he’s largely failed to live up to the expectations placed upon him coming out of the NHL Entry Draft where New York took him 2nd overall back in 2019.
Nevertheless, the pedigree is there, and clearly Francis & co. are banking on a change of scenery helping the young winger rediscover his form.
The Rangers, who have dropped 11 of their past 14 games, already shipped out captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks earlier this season. In acquiring Borgen from Seattle, they now have some added depth on the blue line, and get slightly younger in the process by bringing in the 27 year old right shot defender.
In a corresponding move, the Rangers sent defenceman Victor Mancini to Hartford of the American Hockey League and recalled forward Matt Rempe. Seattle is next in action Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Rangers will travel to Dallas on Friday to take on the Stars.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.