Rangers' Kakko back on trade market as GM Drury eyes change
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The New York Rangers have made headlines this week as the team looks to shakeup their roster amid an uneven start.
While two veterans had previously been mentioned as trade candidates, TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reports 23-year-old winger Kaapo Kakko has also been put on the trade block.
"Lots of teams are just swirling around Chris Drury and the Rangers, beyond what’s been speculated this week with the news of Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba being available," Dreger said on Insider Trading. "I’m told that Kaapo Kakko’s name has resurfaced. Now, it’s not like the Rangers are willing to give this guy away. They drafted him second overall in 2019.
"Ice time is a bit of an issue. Kakko probably wants a fresh start, but again, if they’re trading out pieces like that, then the return is going to have to be exactly what the New York Rangers are looking for. But undoubtedly, there’s interest there."
Kakko has three goals and 12 points in 21 games after re-signing with the Rangers on a one-year, $2.4 million after ongoing trade rumours. He is averaging 13:13 of ice time this season.
The Finnish winger had 13 goals and 19 points in 60 games last season after a breakout 18-goal and 40-point season in 2022-23.
Kakko was selected second overall in the 2019 draft, one pick after Jack Hughes and ahead of Kirby Dach and Bowen Byram, who have both already been traded by the clubs that drafted them.
Rangers tailspin continues
The Rangers lost their fourth straight game Wednesday, falling 4-3 to the Carolina Hurricanes. The team currently sits in the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 12-8-1 record.
“I think it’s pretty obvious there’s frustration, angst, tension,” Kreider told Mollie Walker of the New York Post prior to the loss of the feeling in the Rangers dressing room. “Good. We’re 20 games in. Let’s go through this s–t now and figure out who we are. We had the best regular season in the history of an Original Six franchise last year, won a Presidents’ Trophy and didn’t go as far as we would’ve liked. We’re getting exposed right now. Our warts are out there and teams are picking on the things we don’t do well and we’ve gotten away from the things we do do well.
“We don’t necessarily know what this is right now, right? This could just be part of the story and we look back at this and say, ‘This made us better.’”
The Rangers will visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday before hosting the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday as the team looks to get their season back on track.