Kaapo Kakko signed a one-year extension with the New York Rangers this offseason, but he’s still a potential trade piece. One trade proposal suggests the Rangers could send him to the St. Louis Blues in a multi-player deal.
PuckPedia’s new tool, PuckGM, allows users to create their own trades, and one user suggested a deal where the Rangers trade Kakko to the Blues.
In this proposed trade:
**Rangers receive:**
– Oskar Sundqvist
– Kasperi Kapanen
– Matthew Kessel
– 2027 second-round pick
**Blues receive:**
– Kaapo Kakko
This deal is intriguing because the Blues would acquire the most established NHL player in Kakko, while the Rangers would gain three players to enhance their roster depth.
Sundqvist, 30, is a bottom-six forward who played 71 games for the Blues last season, tallying 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points. Kapanen, a former first-round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, has struggled to secure a full-time NHL role. Kessel, 24, is more of a gamble, having played 39 NHL games last season with 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points.
For the Rangers, this trade is more about bolstering their forward depth and securing a second-round pick in exchange for Kakko, who has been frustrated with his role on the team.
Kakko, drafted second overall in 2019, appeared in 61 games last season, scoring 13 goals and 6 assists for 19 points.
Kakko Frustrated With Role With Rangers
Although drafted second overall in 2019, Kakko has struggled to establish himself as an impactful NHL player.
His challenges were evident last season when he was occasionally a healthy scratch during both the regular season and playoffs. Despite these setbacks, Kakko signed a one-year contract with the Rangers but expressed frustration with his role.
“Playoffs were different,” Kakko remarked. “Of course, everyone wants to play… I wasn’t happy about not being in the lineup, but I still wanted to win. I was hoping the team would win, keep going, and I’d eventually get back in the lineup. But I can say I wasn’t happy, and I think all the guys in this room feel the same way—everyone wants to play.”
Kakko has appeared in 300 NHL games, tallying 57 goals and 60 assists for a total of 117 points.
Blues Add 2 Young Players From Offer Sheets
The St. Louis Blues signed defenseman Philip Broberg and forward Dylan Holloway to offer sheets, which the Edmonton Oilers chose not to match.
“I’ve seen the comments — if there’s an unwritten rule among GMs about not using offer sheets, nobody informed me,” Blues GM Doug Armstrong remarked during a press conference. “This is a tool everyone can and should use. It was suggested that I wouldn’t have done this to Kenny Holland, the former Oilers GM — that couldn’t be further from the truth. Honestly, I’d do it to my mother if she were managing the Oilers.”
Broberg, selected eighth overall by the Oilers in 2019, has played in 81 NHL regular-season games, tallying 2 goals and 11 assists for 13 points.
Holloway, picked 14th overall in the 2022 NHL draft, has appeared in 89 games, recording 9 goals and 9 assists for 18 points.
Be the first to comment