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

[Phil]

8 minutes ago, The Dude said:

 

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. 

 

I mean, Benoit Pouliot. You gotta pull the chute at some point. Minnesota and Montreal both did. He put up a "career" year with the Rangers and went off to free agency and eventual irrelevance. He was a good two-way player, too. If that's Kakko, so be it, but I'm not wasting my time keeping th at player around at an elevated price point just because of his draft status.

[The Dude]

9

25 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

 I'm not wasting my time keeping th at player around at an elevated price point just because of his draft status.

 

 

That's what I have been worried about the whole time. Does their draft status still carry any weight,  along with how they haven't been used like typical 1 &2 OA picks?

 

Do they want to remain here and continue to be used this way? Do they hold out? Do they demand a trade? 

 

The usual response to these questions is "they can hold out all they want let them go play in the KHL or Switzerland..."  I don't think that's a wise management of what we are depending on to be players or assets. This isn't Kravtsov or Andersson.  You can't purposely diminish their value to send them a message.  

 

As annoyed as I am, I get the sentiment of wanting to keep them. I go back and forth on this often. The "what if" factor and the "they are what they are" attitude has to be grounded with what you said. Their price point.  What exactly are they worth? Vs, what do they want? 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2023 by The Dude

[The Dude]

28 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

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.

 

Rookie Kakko took chances. Rookie Kakko took the puck to the net. Rookie Kakko shot the puck. 

This Kakko, wants no part of shooting or taking the puck to the net. He's more concerned with not turning the puck over and being safe with the puck, than he is with being the selfish puck danger he was as a rookie.

 

He was amongst the worst forwards as a rookie because he played with nobody's (I mean honestly,  look at that roster, he wasn't playing with Zibanejad, Kreider,  Strome or Panarin- so maybe 2nd year Chytil, Howden,  Mckegg.....  ), was terrible defensively as well as being  the poor skater they already knew he was...  

 

The path he has been pushed towards, is not the direction that reflects the player they drafted. 

[Pete]

1 hour ago, Phil said:

I see absolutely no difference at all in his offensive potential.

Yea I couldn't disagree more.

 

Hockey is about time and space and Kakko can hold the puck in tight spaces longer than almost any forward on the team. He creates his own time and space in a way he couldn't as a rookie. His shot is lethal but he never uses it. He defers too much. If he improves his decision making he's going to rake points. 

 

All of this is the difference between him and Lafreniere who handles the puck like it has herpes and hep C combo. 

Edited March 23, 2023 by Pete

[Phil]

16 minutes ago, Pete said:

Yea I couldn't disagree more.

 

Hockey is about time and space and Kakko can hold the puck in tight spaces longer than almost any forward on the team. He creates his own time and space in a way he couldn't as a rookie. His shot is lethal but he never uses it. He defers too much. If he improves his decision making he's going to rake points. 

 

All of this is the difference between him and Lafreniere who handles the puck like it has herpes and hep C combo. 

 

I wasn't clear enough. When I say I see no difference in his offensive potential, I'm talking about the outcomes. Maybe he took a few more chances in his rookie year. I don't really remember that, but the outcome is no different: he doesn't score. Ever.

 

Potential is probably the wrong word for me to use, honestly. I can see what you might mean that his ability to hold pucks could be a precursor to better offense in the future. It's reality I'm dealing with, and the reality is that he's irrelevant as an offensive player Since day one.

[BrooksBurner]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Yea I couldn't disagree more.

 

Hockey is about time and space and Kakko can hold the puck in tight spaces longer than almost any forward on the team. He creates his own time and space in a way he couldn't as a rookie. His shot is lethal but he never uses it. He defers too much. If he improves his decision making he's going to rake points. 

 

All of this is the difference between him and Lafreniere who handles the puck like it has herpes and hep C combo. 

Seems like you know a lot about this

[Pete]

46 minutes ago, BrooksBurner said:

Seems like you know a lot about this

You would know, I caught it from you. 

[BrooksBurner]

45 minutes ago, Pete said:

You would know, I caught it from you. 

You were askin for it

[Pete]

10 hours ago, BrooksBurner said:

You were askin for it