Opinion: It is Now or Never for Rangers’ Kakko

Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

There was a lot of hype surrounding New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko when he was taken with the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.

At the time he was drafted, Kakko, 23, was looked at as a player who had tremendous skill, size, an ability to drive the net, and put up solid offensive numbers. Sounds like a great hockey player, right?

Well, through the 2023-24 season, Kakko has been anything but a great hockey player. In 300 career games, he has just 117 points on 57 goals and 60 assists.

Now, if Kakko was a player who was taken in the later rounds, these numbers would not look so bad. In fact, they would even be somewhat acceptable.

However, because he was the second overall pick, those numbers are terrible. It also does not help that the player taken first overall that year, New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes, has put up outstanding numbers.

That brings us to this upcoming season. If Kakko wants to remain a New York Ranger or even be considered a desirable trade target, a few things need to happen.

For starters, he needs to figure out a way to take a similar step that Alexis Lafreniere took last season. Going into last season, Lafreniere, 22, had point totals of 21, 31, and 39 in his first three seasons in the league.

Lafreniere then took a huge step last season when he had a career-high 57 points on 28 goals and 29 assists. Yes, it certainly helped that he played with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, but he put in the work to become a better player.

Kakko needs to figure out a way to do the same thing. While that may be hard to accomplish playing on the third line, he can certainly push himself to be better.

Secondly, he needs to figure out a way to use the abilities he does have to produce on a more consistent basis. There is no doubt that he has great size, can control the puck along the boards, and he also has a great shot.

Coming up on his sixth season in the league, he now needs to find a way to put it all together. If he is not able to do that, the Rangers could be in trouble not only in terms of their current roster, but also in terms of trying to trade him.

Lastly, Kakko needs to go into this season, realizing that it could define the rest of his career. Whether he wants to stay with the Blueshirts or find a home elsewhere, he needs to show that he can be a productive player and that he is worth giving playing time to.

It will certainly be interesting to see what Kakko does this season on Broadway.

Fortune Telling w/ Joe Fortunato Ranting Rangers: A New York Rangers Podcast

In this week's episode Joe Fortunato comes on to discuss NYR's offseason outlook now with Mike Sullivan hired, Drury's management of the team and more.How to support us and our sponsors:Columbia Sports ApparelESPN+ SubscriptionFanaticsDraft Kings – CODE ITRThanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.
  1. Fortune Telling w/ Joe Fortunato
  2. Built for Compliance, Not Cups
  3. Masterclass Incompetence
  4. The Great Regression : 24-25 NYR
  5. 68 Down & We Needed This 1

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Patrick Hoffman

Patrick covers the NHL for Inside The Rink. He has previously covered the league for The Ultimate Hockey Fan Cave, WTP Sports, Sportsnet.ca, Kukla’s Korner, Spector’s Hockey, NHL Network Radio blog, TheHockeyNews.com, The Fourth Period, Stan Fischler’s “The Fischler Report”, as well as a slew of others.

Leave a Reply

2025 IIHF Worlds: Beniers, Daccord Shine as USA Shuts Out Denmark

Team USA opened their 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship campaign on Friday afternoon with a convincing matchup against host Denmark in Group B play. With a roster stacked with young NHL talent and a clear commitment to speed and puck possession, the Americans were looking to set the tone early in their pursuit of gold. […]

Read More

2025 IIHF Worlds: Crosby Named Captain of Team Canada

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins will once again lead Team Canada on the international stage, named captain for the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship in Sweden and Denmark. He’ll be joined by alternate captains Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Ryan O’Reilly of the Nashville Predators, forming a veteran leadership group with deep […]

Read More
Rick Tocchet behind the bench for the Vancouver Canucks

Boston Bruins Have a Top Head Coaching Target

You can add Rick Tocchet’s name to the rumor mill when it comes to who the next head coach of the Boston Bruins will be. Tocchet played 47 games for the Bruins from 1996 to 1997 and scored 32 goals for them. Sources say that Tocchet could be a top target for the Bruins to […]

Read More