Don’t trade him!: A Strong Argument in Favor of Preserving the Finnish Phenom…..Read more

Reasons to reject the idea of right-wing Hello, Kaapo! From 2017 until 2020, the New York Rangers made four consecutive top-10 draft picks; prior to Kaapo Kakko, two of those picks had already left the club. Instead of trading Kakko for another team, the club should use his skills and acknowledge his current worth to the team.

Panthers Rumors of Kaapo Kakko’s leaving have been circulating for a few years now. The benching of Kakko in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final by head coach Peter Laviolette has been the catalyst for the most vocal criticism this offseason. It appears that Kakko’s progress has come to a standstill. Despite being selected second overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, the player never had a breakout season.

The future of the 23-year-old is unclear as to where he stands with the New York Rangers. Should it, though? Not sure, is it? Is it fair to fire a once-promising young talent after five seasons in the NHL with a dismal point total of 117 (57 goals, 60 assists) in 300 games played? You may now find the Kakko scouting report online.

Expectations that he will develop into a top-six power forward were over exaggerated. Anyway, who’s to argue that player isn’t worth something? Even though Kakko’s point performance isn’t very impressive, the situation does not justify just reassigning his roster place due to the youngster’s departure.

The worth of Kakko Although Kakko struggles with skating and shooting, he might improve his point totals by making better decisions when he has the puck. In the attacking zone, his skills in controlling the puck along the boards and navigating through traffic are highly sought-after. On defense, Kakko has shown to be valuable as well.

According to Natural Stat Trick, out of all the club players who played 100 minutes or more this season, he had the lowest goals against average per 60 minutes at 5v5. More room to grow should open up for him in the future as a dependable defensive forward and a potential top penalty killer.

Instead of giving up on a guy they chose second overall, the Rangers should find a way to get the most out of him. Playing in games for the team is vital even if you don’t have the finishing touch. You can’t brush off contributions like quality, dependable ice time. Kakko requires a change in expectations.

A disturbing pattern Taking a realistic view of Kakko is essential for the company. If Kakko were to experience what happened to Lias Andersson, the seventh overall pick of the Rangers in the 2017 draft, it would be disastrous for the team. Or maybe you’re familiar with Vitali Kravtsov, another top selection pick that was mishandled.

In case you missed it, the Rangers sent Andersson packing after he didn’t have much of an impact with the team in 2020 and got a second-round pick (later turned into Will Cuylle) in exchange for the dissatisfied Swedish forward. The deal took place during the 2020 draft. Although his approach was significantly different from Kakko’s, Andersson, like Kakko, did not progress as anticipated.

With the arrival of Connor McDavid in 2015 and Auston Matthews in 2016, the expectations around Kakko (and Andersson/Kravtsov as well) were not adequately met, as there was no transition phase for young players joining the league after them.

It was thought that players who were picked highly would be instant sensations and score goals whenever they skated on ice. As fans, we tend to lose sight of the fact that not every prospect is the same and that not every high draft pick goes on to become an NHL superstar.

Consider Patrik Stefan, the first overall selection in the 2000 NHL Draft. His most memorable moment in the league occurred in 2007, when he made a breakaway mistake against the Oilers, resulting in a goal scored by Ales Hemsky. Another first-round pick who only managed to play 350 games in the NHL before calling it quits was Nail Yakupov, who happened very recently.

There are two things the Rangers organization can take away from this with them: first, that highly drafted players are valuable for more than just their offensive prowess and point totals; and second, that the way they handle this situation and, more importantly, decide whether or not to keep Kakko will be a sign of how they handle developing young talent in the future.

Top draught picks by the Rangers have to stay with the club and establish themselves as lineup mainstays at some time. The squad needs to figure out how to make these young guys shine, stars or not.