Kaapo Kakko talks Rangers trade, needing a ‘fresh start’ with Kraken

The Rangers trading Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken shook the hockey world on Wednesday. On Thursday, the former second-overall pick is talking about his experience in New York and what led to him being dealt.

In his introductory Zoom call with reporters, Kakko was asked about what this next chapter in his career means to him.

“Fresh start. I feel that’s what I need right now,” he said. “I liked my time in New York… Many years over there, great team, but I think I’m waiting for a little more from myself. The team was waiting also, and it never worked out the way we wanted. There’s a new chance for me over here.”

Kakko was the Rangers’ first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and simply did not play up to expectations.

After scoring 10 goals and dishing 13 assists in his rookie season across 66 games, he had fewer than 20 points in four of his last five seasons, including just 14 (four goals) in 30 games this year.

His down play in combination with the Rangers’ (15-15-1) freefall led to head coach Peter Laviolette making Kakko a healthy scratch in the team’s loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

That move irked the Finnish player, who said he was surprised by his benching.

“I know you’ve got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out,” he said at the time. “That’s how I feel, to be honest.”

Kakko was asked if he felt that moment was a factor in him being traded, but the 23-year-old wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s because of that. The team was playing not well enough,” he said. “There are a lot of good players over there, they needed to do something over there. I kind of knew something was going to happen, and I knew it might be me.”

He revealed that there were talks about a potential trade before a deal with Seattle was made but didn’t say which side initiated it. He just pointed to his recent play as a big reason for the move.

“I always loved my time in New York, all those years, but especially after last year, it was a bad year for me,” he said. “I wasn’t good enough, to be honest, but I also felt like a lot of games I could have got on the ice more to show what I can do. … We talked about it a little bit.”

Kakko will have plenty of time to show Seattle what he can do as he tries to help get the Kraken (15-16-2) into the postseason.

As for the Rangers, they received D Will Borgen along with two 2025 draft picks in the trade, and they hope a change to the core turns their season around.