The people saying Kakko is a bust and wanting him gone are most likely too young to remember guys like Amonte, Weight, Kovalev and how the Rangers in their infinite wisdom got rid of them (and later got rid of Zubov) who all went on to HOF or borderline HOF careers. Or how they completely destroyed Sundstrom. Probably too young to even remember Duclair. I don't care that the Cup was won in 94, they sold their future for one crack at it and it barely worked out. They could have had a core of Messier, Graves, Leetch. Zubov, Amonte, Kovalev, Weight for a decade or more. Instead they won a Cup and then proceeded to enter the dark ages while NJ held on to their core and won 3 Cups. People ignore or try to erase their past mistakes are doomed to repeat them in some form or fashion.
And I'll say this, while not as gifted because there's not alot of people in history at this sport who are, Kakko reminds me a hell of a lot of a young Kovalev. Especially how he controlls the puck on the boards. With so much raw gifted talent and a clear language barrier, he needs time to grow into his own man and own player. Go ahead and trade him to Pittsburgh so he can become a 40 goal scorer with Crosby or Malkin like Kovalev became with Lemieux and Jagr. The situations are eerily similar.
Kakko is 21 years old. He's already our best forward at controlling the puck down low on the cycle. He was part of the best line on the team by a wide margin the entire playoffs.
It's amazing how much instant gratification is needed by people. He was a 2nd overall pick but that doesn't automatically mean that player will reach his prime at 21. Players still need to develop.
And Hunt, Rooney, and injured Strome were NOT better options than Kakko even with how young he is and how much of a work in progress he is.
Remember this post, if the Rangers lose Kakko due to their typical self destructive stupidity, they and the fans will rue that decision for a long time.
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