Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko

[True Blue]

Well we’re talking about his rookie season, not when he’s a sophomore or veteran. Doesn’t it make you a little curious to see how he’d do right now playing with Panarin?

There are a lot of things that make me curious regarding Kakko, including seeing how Andersson does with him. Realistically, I think that the only way you will see him and Panarin on the same line, is if he is on the first line. And regarding that 1) he needs to earn his way onto it & 2) I think there is a pretty good chance that the 18 year old spends his entire freshman year on the middle two lines.

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

There are a lot of things that make me curious regarding Kakko, including seeing how Andersson does with him. Realistically, I think that the only way you will see him and Panarin on the same line, is if he is on the first line. And regarding that 1) he needs to earn his way onto it & 2) I think there is a pretty good chance that the 18 year old spends his entire freshman year on the middle two lines.

We won't see Kakko with Lias

 

[UnSandvich]

We won't see Kakko with Lias

You never know. Quinn could demote Kakko to the 4th line for not being North American enough or some shit

 

[Amazing Kreiderman]

You never know. Quinn could demote Kakko to the 4th line for not being North American enough or some ****

"Let's try someone else with Strome to see if that works"

 

[Inferno]

I think we are overrating this Panarin/Zibanejad combo quite a lot so far. Zibanejad has 8 points. 3 of them were at 5v5. That's obviously good in two games but it's not something ridiculous. It doesn't mean much in two games but together they have a 43 CF%, 16 shots, and are shooting 25%. I absolutely would break them up (never wanted them together) and have a strong first line (Kreider Zibanejad Buch worked fine last year) and then you have Panarin be the key driver on the "2nd" (really 1A) line since that line lacks a center. Having them together is overkill that harms the rest of the roster.

Yep. Been in the same boat as youfor a while....

 

[offdacrossbar]

i think the top 6 that we have right now should be the top 6.

i also think that any combo that gets all 6 going and also balances out the 5v5 minutes is worth a look see.

PP1 should be the best 5 players as they will get the bulk of the man up mins.

 

[SA16]

I’m still absolutely willing to try this. Idk how willing Quinn is though. Panarin is only playing 18:33, there’s no reason they couldn’t maintain that. The only thing that’d really change for Panarin is slightly easier competition. Kane and Toews for instance have played on separate lines many times. IIRC Kane was playing with Brad Richards during 2014-15. Crosby and Malkin, etc.

Toews and Kane for the last several years have not played together much. They have so far this year and towards the end of last year but not much. They always liked to do the thing where they called the Toews line L1 and Kane line L2.

 

[aufheben]

Toews and Kane for the last several years have not played together much. They have so far this year and towards the end of last year but not much. They always liked to do the thing where they called the Toews line L1 and Kane line L2.

Yes, and I like the Chicago comparison further because they were always relatively weak at 2C. Panarin’s rookie season he played with Kane and Anisimov (he was better than Strome but still only a 35-40-point center when he went to Chicago.) Toews was playing with Hossa and Shaw that year. Kane and Toews were 1st and 2nd in 5v5 ice-time despite being on separate lines.

Hossa-Toews-Shaw
Kane-Anisimov-Panarin

Kreider-Zibanejad-Buchnevich
Panarin-Strome-Kakko

 

[Ukkosenjumala]

Of course it matters. And to say it is not common is a bit of an understatement. There have been 200 18 year olds that tallied points in the NHL at the age of 18. Your comparison just put him into the top 15 of all time. That does not speak volumes of the likelihood that such things occur. Heck, Rick Nash scored 39. Do you think that Kakko is already every bit the player that Nash was? Or Patrice Bergeron?

This is exactly what I am talking about as having completely unrealistic expectations and then deeming the season a "disappointment" when it is not achieved.

First of all, what do Finnish NHL pros have anything to do with it? Are they better at predicting play than Russian ones or Swedish ones? Second of all, yes, if you look at it from a historical perspective, it is very much out of whack.

1. ZBad was a borderline elite center prior to the season starting.
2. The Rangers just brought in an elite top line wing.
3. There is ZERO chance that said elite top line wing gets demoted to the second line.

I've alrdy said I agree with you there for the bolded. 50-60 points isn't an expectation, just a prediction. I think you're barking at the wrong tree here, I'm not gonna be disappointed in Kakko either way unless he completely flunks out and I don't have any mega expectations here.

 

[Brooklyn Rangers Fan]

I imagine we're going to see all sorts of lineups before the season is half over. Always happens. Kind of silly to be gnashing teeth over two games (both of which they won), IMO.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

If he can only produce with a playmaker, then he probably should not have been taken 2nd overall.

I'd expect Kakko to be able to carry a line eventually, but doing it as a teenager is a tall order no matter the level of talent.

Anyway, I would hope they end the Strome experiment or at least give him a little more PP time if the even strength issues continue with his line. The worst thing right now is having Kakko start to lose confidence at this early juncture.

 

[True Blue]

I'd expect Kakko to be able to carry a line eventually, but doing it as a teenager is a tall order no matter the level of talent.

Anyway, I would hope they end the Strome experiment or at least give him a little more PP time if the even strength issues continue with his line. The worst thing right now is having Kakko start to lose confidence at this early juncture.

I think that there has been several occasions that he has went two consecutive games and not scored. After two games, I am not ready to say he is loosing his confidence.

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

I think that there has been several occasions that he has went two consecutive games and not scored. After two games, I am not ready to say he is loosing his confidence.

Of course. All Im saying is his start at the NHL level would be a little easier if he had a center that could carry his weight. Unfortunately, thats not a reality with the Rangers roster right now.

 

[True Blue]

Of course. All Im saying is his start at the NHL level would be a little easier if he had a center that could carry his weight. Unfortunately, thats not a reality with the Rangers roster right now.

That;s pretty much the bottom line. Which is why I would try Andersson with him. But no matter what I think, the one thing that I am confident in, is that Panarin is not leaving ZBad's side in an attempt to get Kakko going.

 

[Edge]

Just a quick reminder when talking about line combos, chemistry, usage, jump-starting production and other topics:

29 minutes and 25 seconds

That's how many minutes Kaapo Kakko is into his NHL career.

29 minutes and 25 seconds

 

[Bleed Ranger Blue]

That;s pretty much the bottom line. Which is why I would try Andersson with him. But no matter what I think, the one thing that I am confident in, is that Panarin is not leaving ZBad's side in an attempt to get Kakko going.

I could potentially see it happening eventually, but it wouldn't be for the sole reason of getting Kakko going. They could run a Panarin-Zbad-Kakko line, but that just compounds the depth problem they already have.

With the way Zbad is performing, I could eventually see him settling in with Kreider and Buchnevich. If you have Panarin and Kakko on the other top line, it'd probably matter less who the center is. But yes, right now, no reason whatsoever to break up with chemistry Panarin and Zbad are showing.

 

[Shesterkybomb]

Strome getting all the blame for Kakko and Kreider being mediocre so far is pretty funny. Maybe if they werent mediocre then Strome would be successful as a 2nd C? Cant blame one guy for a whole lines struggles. BTW, Strome has been great on faceoffs and decent on the pk. He isnt the answer to the 2nd line but he also isnt everything that is wrong with it.

 

[007]

Just a quick reminder when talking about line combos, chemistry, usage, jump-starting production and other topics:

29 minutes and 25 seconds

That's how many minutes Kaapo Kakko is into his NHL career.

29 minutes and 25 seconds

Oh wow, so it's early yet. Isn't 30 min. the official HF time limit before declaring a rookie a bust?

 

[SA16]

6470 minutes have told me that Strome shouldn't be his center though.

 

[Edge]

6470 minutes have told me that Strome shouldn't be his center though.

I think the Rangers would fully agree with you.

 

[Edge]

6470 minutes have told me that Strome shouldn't be his center though.

I don’t think anyone disputes that.

 

[SA16]

6470 minutes have told me that Strome shouldn't be his center though.

 

[Irishguy42]

 

[Jabroni]

Just a quick reminder when talking about line combos, chemistry, usage, jump-starting production and other topics:

29 minutes and 25 seconds

That's how many minutes Kaapo Kakko is into his NHL career.

29 minutes and 25 seconds

And goal-less? Bust.

 

[will1066]

6470 minutes have told me that Strome shouldn't be his center though.

So good it was posted twice