Rangers Re-Sign Kaapo Kakko to 2-Year/$4.2M Extension; $2.1M AAV

[Pete]

Just now, CCCP said:

no one likes you, they just put up with you....a lot

Same difference AFAIC.

[Albatrosss]

3 minutes ago, Pete said:

Same difference AFAIC.

@Ozzy likes you tho

[Tomas Sandstrom]

24 minutes ago, Pete said:

Kakko and Chytil I'm willing to be patient with.

 

Lafreniere can't skate, can't create, decent shot he never gets off or on net, no vision, not good one on one.

 

There's no "there" there. It's been this way since he came into the league. Kakko had something but couldn't skate. He really worked on it. Chytil always oozed offensive potential, his problem is health and consistency.

 

Lafreniere has been...this...since he came into the league. He's JAG.

 

OK, fair enough.  Can't necessarily disagree with you, but again, he's 21 and could still improve.  I hope you're wrong about Laf and have to eat your words one day (and I hope he's on the Rangers if/when it happens LOL)

Edited March 23, 2023 by Tomas Sandstrom

[Pete]

9 minutes ago, Tomas Sandstrom said:

 

OK, fair enough.  Can't necessarily disagree with you, but again, he's 21 and could still improve.  I hope you're wrong about Laf and have to eat your words one day (and I hope he's on the Rangers if/when it happens LOL)

I hope I'm wrong too. I was never so happy the day we won the lottery, and then never so sad to see what we got.

[Ozzy]

39 minutes ago, CCCP said:

@Ozzy likes you tho

 

Ozzy likes you too....but your GDT power ranking is dropping fast! 

[BrooksBurner]

36 minutes ago, Pete said:

I hope I'm wrong too. I was never so happy the day we won the lottery, and then never so sad to see what we got.

That’s how @CCCP feels when he sees a quote notification from you, and then after he reads the content.

[Tomas Sandstrom]

36 minutes ago, Pete said:

I hope I'm wrong too. I was never so happy the day we won the lottery, and then never so sad to see what we got.

Yup, I completely understand that. 

 

He was so hyped, and was viewed as the "prize".  When the Rangers ping pong ball came up, I literally jumped out of my seat.  I think my wife and daughter thought I was crazy LOL

 

I sorta feel like this is quintessential Rangers, right? 

 

Do they win the lottery the year there's a Lemieux, Crosby, Lindros, McDavid, or MacKinnon.....nope.  We win the year there's a....Lafreniere.  So, when measured against those type expectations, I completely get it.  Makes me want to pull my hair out.

 

However, if you forget about those inflated expectations...Time to be patient.  I know it's difficult, but again, he's a 21 year old kid.  He hasn't been *awful*, he's been underwhelming and inconsistent....but I believe there have been flashes.  Hopefully as time goes on, it comes together and he becomes a top player for the Rangers.

[BrooksBurner]

I see Lafreniere being a strong 2nd line player. An annual 25-30 goal 60-65 point player with some bite in his game. Not what you want from a #1 OA by any means, but a pretty good player to have at the same time. The problem is elite wins Cups, and I don’t see elite.

 

I don’t know where Kakko is going to fall, but he doesn’t possess some of the qualities that Laf does, so when things aren’t going his way he is relatively invisible…with the occasional “nice stick handle” that goes nowhere.

[jsm7302]

15 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

I see Lafreniere being a strong 2nd line player. An annual 25-30 goal 60-65 point player with some bite in his game. Not what you want from a #1 OA by any means, but a pretty good player to have at the same time. The problem is elite wins Cups, and I don’t see elite.

 

I don’t know where Kakko is going to fall, but he doesn’t possess some of the qualities that Laf does, so when things aren’t going his way he is relatively invisible…with the occasional “nice stick handle” that goes nowhere.

I was led to believe Goodrow types win cups .....I'm so confused.....

[Tomas Sandstrom]

16 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

with the occasional “nice stick handle” that goes nowhere.

 

Well, that goes to experience and maturity, right?  

 

It's those flashes, especially with young players, that you want to see.  It's in them, just need to harness and know when and how to best use those skills, translating them into consistent success.  

 

Painful process for sure, but IMO, it's not too late for any of these kids.  I'm actually excited to continue to watch them mature and develop, and hopefully they all get where we want them to be at some point.

[RangersIn7]

The best of Kakko and LaFreniere probably doesn’t come till age 25 to 30, unfortunately 

[Tomas Sandstrom]

Let's try to look at this situation from another perspective:

 

Let's say you are a team like the Hurricanes or the Bruins...

 

Just going based off of what "the kid line" did in last year's playoffs, and given the roster construction...don't you think the last thing you want to see in the playoff this year are these New York Rangers coming to town?

 

I mean, we all want to crap all over these kids, but would it really surprise anyone if they step up in the playoffs and produce some timely goals to help them win playoff games?  

 

Think about having to defend these Rangers, given their top 3 lines, plus now a legit 4th line.  

[jsm7302]

2 minutes ago, Tomas Sandstrom said:

Let's try to look at this situation from another perspective:

 

Let's say you are a team like the Hurricanes or the Bruins...

 

Just going based off of what "the kid line" did in last year's playoffs, and given the roster construction...don't you think the last thing you want to see in the playoff this year are these New York Rangers coming to town?

 

I mean, we all want to crap all over these kids, but would it really surprise anyone if they step up in the playoffs and produce some timely goals to help them win playoff games?  

 

Think about having to defend these Rangers, given their top 3 lines, plus now a legit 4th line.  

Honestly.....I don't think Boston is scared of anyone. They will cakewalk to the cup minus some lightning in a bottle some team can conjure up (Hopefully us).

[Tomas Sandstrom]

3 minutes ago, jsm7302 said:

Honestly.....I don't think Boston is scared of anyone. They will cakewalk to the cup minus some lightning in a bottle some team can conjure up (Hopefully us).

 

OK, we'll see.  

 

Great regular season, but playoffs are a different animal.  

 

Just saying, if Boston had their choice, I bet the Rangers rank towards the bottom, if not dead last.

[Ozzy]

14 minutes ago, RangersIn7 said:

The best of Kakko and LaFreniere probably doesn’t come till age 25 to 30, unfortunately 

 

Sounds a little like Chris Kreider...

[Scott]

I always go back to what did they actually do in the playoffs? Chytil had 7 goals in 20 games 5 of them in 2 games, he threw in 2 assists in 20 games. Laf and Kakko combined for 4 goals in 39 games and combined for 10 assists. Kakko playing his way out of the lineup with the season on the line.  Chytil's 2 games were magical. Outside of that the production across 59 games was mostly eye wash where the story was better than the production. The kid line since being put back together this season has hardly been productive, more often than not getting out played by the 4th line. Meh, just meh.

Edited March 23, 2023 by jsrangers

[jsm7302]

3 minutes ago, jsrangers said:

I always go back to what did they actually do in the playoffs? Chytil had 7 goals in 20 games 5 of them in 2 games, he threw in 2 assists in 20 games. Laf and Kakko combined for 4 goals in 39 games and combined for 10 assists. Kakko playing his way out of the lineup with the season on the line.  Chytil's 2 games were magical. Outside of that the production across 59 games was mostly eye wash where the story was better than the production. The kid line since being put back together this season has hardly been productive, more often than not getting out played by the 4th line. Meh, just meh.

The eye test showed jump and forecheck a large part of the time which played into the narrative. I'm on board to break em up now!

[Scott]

29 minutes ago, jsm7302 said:

The eye test showed jump and forecheck a large part of the time which played into the narrative. I'm on board to break em up now!

sure did, that and two great games by Chytil and all kinds of expectations that they arrived were born. Nope. Chytil had a strong stretch earlier on then regressed, the other 2 still haven't gotten started. I would leave them alone, I have more faith in the rest of the lines being productive than I do getting the old shitspreader  out and moving these guys around - again.  Chytil and Laf imo aren't doing the PP's any favors either.  All of this sucks because if they had taken the next step(s) this season we would be in a much better position.

Edited March 23, 2023 by jsrangers

[Albatrosss]

1 hour ago, BrooksBurner said:

That’s how @CCCP feels when he sees a quote notification from you, and then after he reads the content.

when i see Pete's quote notification, im usually getting ready for a cat fight

[BrooksBurner]

1 hour ago, jsm7302 said:

I was led to believe Goodrow types win cups .....I'm so confused.....

Lol. Well let me clarify. You need those types and the types I described Lafreniere being. But you also need elite and those are usually the hardest to find. The 1OA gives a much higher probability of filling that elite box, so to not get it is pretty tough luck. To not get it with 2OA on top of that is catastrophic for what we hope the team is in 3-5 years from now.

Edited March 23, 2023 by BrooksBurner

[Phil]

2 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

I see Lafreniere being a strong 2nd line player. An annual 25-30 goal 60-65 point player with some bite in his game. Not what you want from a #1 OA by any means, but a pretty good player to have at the same time. The problem is elite wins Cups, and I don’t see elite.

 

I don’t know where Kakko is going to fall, but he doesn’t possess some of the qualities that Laf does, so when things aren’t going his way he is relatively invisible…with the occasional “nice stick handle” that goes nowhere.

 

Yeah, Owen Nolan, basically (cc: @Dunny).

 

But that's still more hope than likelihood right now.

[The Dude]

19 hours ago, Phil said:

 

This is a nonsense, unfalsifiable argument that permanently paints the player as a victim and absolves them of any potential wrongdoing or responsibility in their own development.

 

Did the Rangers "ruin" Lias Andersson and Vitali Kravtsov, too? Must be why they're not doing shit for other orgs. They were "ruined" here.

 

Quote

I'll always say the Rangers ruined him.

That's my opinion.

 

I feel like they took an offensive first prospect and decided to change his game. They pushed him so far to concentrate on defensive responsibility that it became his new nature.

 

The kid showed in his rookie season that he can be electric with the puck and dangle defenders out of their skates and get quality chances on his own. Now he's a pass first, non shooting,  sorry looking sack of shit. 

 

He's not even dominant on the puck right now. He had that going for him this season. He's just out if it lately. Maybe he's tired and not used to the workload due to him missing so much time over the past few seasons. 

 

Andersson was a reach. Not many liked that pick. Heck, Kravtsov was too. Kakko was a kid that had a ton of hype and was a justified #2 pick. Some thought he was going to the Devils if I remember correctly. There's a world of difference between those reaches and the consensus #2 pick. There's nothing in today's Kakko that resembles the player the Rangers drafted, or the rookie version of Kakko. 

[jsm7302]

1 hour ago, BrooksBurner said:

Lol. Well let me clarify. You need those types and the types I described Lafreniere being. But you also need elite and those are usually the hardest to find. The 1OA gives a much higher probability of filling that elite box, so to not get it is pretty tough luck. To not get it with 2OA on top of that is catastrophic for what we hope the team is in 3-5 years from now.

Well, I'm sticking with @Ozzyand hoping McJesus makes his way here after his stay in Edmonton. (I mean c'mon.....Mess and Gretz did it!!!! Follow the past greats!!!)

[The Dude]

19 hours ago, Phil said:

No disagreement. As long as Kakko's price point is third line-level, I'm also A-OK with keeping him around as a quality, reliable player and penalty-killer, even if he never pans out. I just don't se any reason to bend over backwards to keep any of these players if these paces continue, because in reality, none of them move the needle.

 

I'm getting there too. There's always hope that they can just turn it on one day, but it's getting to the point where the continued low idle, is maddening. If this is it, do we really need to invest in them? Or do you go with the next cost controlled prospect? 

 

Buuuut what if they get it one dayband are late bloomers???  

 

Honestly,  their playoff performance this year will determine my own opinion. I think the 3 kids DO turn it up in the playoffs. If they dissappear, well... bye. 

[Phil]

17 minutes ago, The Dude said:

 

That's my opinion.

 

I feel like they took an offensive first prospect and decided to change his game. They pushed him so far to concentrate on defensive responsibility that it became his new nature.

 

The kid showed in his rookie season that he can be electric with the puck and dangle defenders out of their skates and get quality chances on his own. Now he's a pass first, non shooting,  sorry looking sack of shit. 

 

He's not even dominant on the puck right now. He had that going for him this season. He's just out if it lately. Maybe he's tired and not used to the workload due to him missing so much time over the past few seasons. 

 

Andersson was a reach. Not many liked that pick. Heck, Kravtsov was too. Kakko was a kid that had a ton of hype and was a justified #2 pick. Some thought he was going to the Devils if I remember correctly. There's a world of difference between those reaches and the consensus #2 pick. There's nothing in today's Kakko that resembles the player the Rangers drafted, or the rookie version of Kakko. 

 

The only difference between rookie Kakko (who was the worst regular forward in the entire NHL) and current Kakko is that he's no longer a defensive liability. I see absolutely no difference at all in his offensive potential. If anything, he's slightly better, maybe, as he's grown older?

 

Again, at some point, you just have to look at the player and say "he is what he is." He just turned 22, so there's still time, but by 24 or 25, which is effectively the length of what I expect his next bridge deal to be, they're gonna have a really good idea of who he is as an NHL player. He's already played 228 games (and counting). By that point, we'll be looking at close to 400 games. I don't know how much more rope you can give someone.