DALLAS — The New York Rangers traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, getting back defenseman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick. Kakko finishes his Rangers career with 61 goals and 131 points in 330 games.
New York took Kakko with the No. 2 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has four goals and 14 points in 30 games this season. The 23-year-old started the year strong playing with Will Cuylle and Filip Chytil, but his performance — like the team’s — has slipped during a recent disastrous stretch. Coach Peter Laviolette made him a healthy scratch Sunday against the Blues, which frustrated the winger.
“I was surprised,” he said after the scratch. “I know you’ve got to do something as the coach when you’re losing games, but it’s easy to pick the young guy and put him out. That’s how I feel.”
Kakko’s comments did not factor into the team’s decision to move him, according to a league source. The Kraken began talks with the Rangers over the weekend and beat out other offers for the winger. The Rangers were not willing to commit to Kakko, a pending restricted free agent, long term, and had targeted Borgen for a while.
Kakko has yet to develop into the star teams envision with such a high draft pick, but he is a solid two-way player who spent most of his time on the third line. Seattle knows it is at least getting that level of player, and maybe someone with more room to grow. His best NHL season came in 2022-23, when he had 18 goals and 40 points.
Both of Kakko’s first two NHL seasons were shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Rangers did not have any other Finnish regulars on the team as he adjusted to life in North America. Aside from Tarmo Reunanen, who appeared in four games in 2021, Kakko did not have a Finnish teammate until Niko Mikkola came to the team at the 2023 trade deadline.
Kakko played under three NHL coaches during his six years with the Rangers: David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Laviolette. All three scratched him at some point during their tenures, with Gallant and Laviolette both doing so in the Eastern Conference final.
The Blues game this season was the first time Laviolette scratched Kakko since Game 2 of the 2024 Eastern Conference final. Kakko said afterward, “I have not been the worst” Rangers player during the team’s slump. In his next game, a 2-0 loss to Nashville, he played only 10:14, less than any other skater on the Rangers.
GO DEEPER
Kaapo Kakko expresses frustration with benching as Rangers drama boils: ‘I have not been the worst’
The Rangers were open to moving Kakko this past summer but did not land on a deal. Speculation quieted when he started 2024-25 strong, but the team’s recent struggles and his healthy scratch opened the door again. Given his open frustrations, Kakko seemed like a player who could use a fresh start. Now he’s getting one in Seattle.
Borgen, a 6-foot-3 right-shot defenseman, has two points in 33 games this season but had 20 or more the two seasons prior, including a career-high 25 in 2023-24. He also played every game in Seattle’s run to the second round in 2023. The Kraken thought he was likely to walk when he became a free agent over the summer, according to a league source, which factored into their decision to move him.
Borgen is expected to join the team in Dallas. He patches a hole in the Rangers’ group of defensemen, which is without Jacob Trouba (traded to the Anaheim Ducks) and K’Andre Miller (upper-body injury). It also could give New York the option to send rookie Victor Mancini back to AHL Hartford for more development. The Rangers are also low on draft picks after trading many away as a contender the past few seasons. Now they get some back as they try to reshape their team.
GO DEEPER
NHL trade grades: Kraken take low-risk bet on Kaapo Kakko, Rangers get little in return
(Photo: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)