by Kaapo Kakko is officially a member of the Seattle Kraken after being traded from the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
Kakko spent six seasons with the Rangers after being selected second overall in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Although Kakko enjoyed his time in New York, he felt like he needed a fresh start somewhere else.
“New beginnings, I feel like this is what I need right now. I enjoyed my time in New York… many years there, great team. This is a new opportunity for me here.”
– Kaapo Kakko on joining the Kraken pic.twitter.com/ZRt0ABUl7R
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) December 19, 2024
“New beginnings. I feel like that’s what I need right now,” Kakko said. “I enjoyed my time in New York… Many years there, great team, but I think I expect a little more from myself. The team also waited and things never went the way we wanted.”
The trade came days after Kakko expressed his displeasure at being left out of the lineup as he saw his role continue to diminish.
There may not have been a specific desire for a trade, but the desire to part ways was mutual between Kakko and the Rangers.
Kakko wasn’t surprised when he was eventually traded to Seattle, as he discussed the possibility of a move with Rangers general manager Chris Drury.
There was a feeling that the Rangers wanted to make a change and Kakko felt that he would get more opportunities to play with another team.
“There may have been discussions about it,” Kakko said in communications he had with the Rangers about a trade. “I have always enjoyed my time in New York over the years, but especially after last year it was a bad year for me. To be honest, I wasn’t good enough, but I also felt like I could have gotten on the ice more in a lot of games to show what I could do. … We talked about it a little bit.”
The 23-year-old’s comments about his bench move led many to believe that this was the reason the Rangers moved quickly in making a trade.
Kakko sharpened his comments while emphasizing that this move was about much more than just his individual comments.
Kaapo Kakko doesn’t think the swap is related to his comments after his scratch:
“The team didn’t play well enough, they had to do something. I knew it could be me. I was honest… there are people who play PK and PP and I wasn’t in either.” pic.twitter.com/SiJzIQhTGw
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) December 19, 2024
“The team didn’t play well enough, they had to do something. I knew it could be me,” Kakko explained. “I was honest… there are people who play PK and PP and I wasn’t in either.”
Now everything is underwater as Kakko makes a fresh start in Seattle and the Rangers look to get their season back on track.
