Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko

[McRanger92]

something like kakko+ for zegras makes a ton of sense to me

Another guy who can't get to the middle of the ice

 

[KingDeathMetal]

I didnt say star winger. I said top 6 winger. And afford what? The team isnt in a cap crunch. Trouba and Panarin each have 2 years left, anyone the Rangers want to keep long term, they can. I bet they add multiple impactful players with 1/2 years remaining and reassess next summer.

We're not in a cap crunch, but things are gonna be REAL tight the season before Panarin expires. Really depends on what we wind up paying Igor. If it's true that $10m would be a discount, then buckle up.

 

[SeanAveryTheGreatOne]

*drops mic*

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[RangersFan1994]

Kakko to Wings for Rasmussen?? Rangers can use skilled size up front.

 

[Shadowtron]

This post was so good it actually got an insanely rare @Shadowtron like. Talk about an old-school HFNYR legend.

Hahhaha! I’m always lurking. Can’t fully keep away from this place lol

 

[JCProdigy]

I still say Kakko for Bennett. Make it happen Drury!

 

[Crease]

The main defenses for Kakko at this point are he’s cheap and Laf made us eat crow.

 

[DanielBrassard]

The main defenses for Kakko at this point are he’s cheap and Laf made us eat crow.

And the cheap argument doesn’t do much considering a guy like Rodrigues who is a better player just got 3M in UFA, you can find guys who can provide just as much or more than Kakko for a similar cap number.

 

[EdJovanovski]

*drops mic*

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Not as impressive as Rempe's

 

[Crease]

The only thing you can infer from that stat is that Kakko is better than the Rangers 13th forward.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Another thing is Rempe's record is comparing apples to apples, the same time period where he's been a scratch and then is put into the next game. The sample size without Kakko isn't him being in and out of the lineup during the same stretch of hockey without other variables, it was all during a time when he was out with injury aside from one scratch (where they won)

 

[Sayba]

Kakko is not a good enough skater and not strong enough to play the Barkov possession style he has some skill at and does show some flashes. If this guy was quicker, stronger and willing to get to the dirty areas you’d have a hell of a player representative of a number 2 overall pick.

It’s been 5 years and he hasn’t made the improvement necessary. Could he? Maybe, but I doubt it as this point. He is more likely a decent middle 6 winger who is semi reliable and will flash every now and then.

 

[LOFIN]

Kakko is not a good enough skater and not strong enough to play the Barkov possession style he has some skill at and does show some flashes. If this guy was quicker, stronger and willing to get to the dirty areas you’d have a hell of a player representative of a number 2 overall pick.

It’s been 5 years and he hasn’t made the improvement necessary. Could he? Maybe, but I doubt it as this point. He is more likely a decent middle 6 winger who is semi reliable and will flash every now and then.

Barkov drastically changed his skating at the age of 22. Kakko is now 23, so it's not too late. He just has to realize what he has done previously has not worked, and try to find a different solution. I hope the club stresses this to him as well (assuming Drury wants to re-sign him) that he should focus 100% on his skating this off-season. Check that, 150%. f*** everything else.

Kakko was much faster before the draft. All that muscle and other training has clearly taken its toll, and he hasn't worked enough with his skating. Or not the right way. Time to make changes. At least in the exit interviews he said that his speed is his biggest problem right now, so it would seem he at least realizes what to do.

 

[Sayba]

Barkov drastically changed his skating at the age of 22. Kakko is now 23, so it's not too late. He just has to realize what he has done previously has not worked, and try to find a different solution. I hope the club stresses this to him as well (assuming Drury wants to re-sign him) that he should focus 100% on his skating this off-season. Check that, 150%. f*** everything else.

Kakko was much faster before the draft. All that muscle and other training has clearly taken its toll, and he hasn't worked enough with his skating. Or not the right way. Time to make changes. At least in the exit interviews he said that his speed is his biggest problem right now, so it would seem he at least realizes what to do.

I hope so, but speed is hard to fix, you either have it or you don’t, there is only so much improvement you make.

 

[IDvsEGO]

I hope so, but speed is hard to fix, you either have it or you don’t, there is only so much improvement you make.

Speed is tied to skating. He can make improvements there to significantly get faster, or improve burst.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

The main defenses for Kakko at this point are he’s cheap and Laf made us eat crow.

Wrong. He's a high skill player with a good head on his shoulders, that is likely to continue to grow and adapt. He is also a prototypical power forward, they tend to prime later in their careers.

 

[LOFIN]

I hope so, but speed is hard to fix, you either have it or you don’t, there is only so much improvement you make.

Like I said, Kakko has been faster. Arguably he probably doesn't need to do anything else but hit the gym less and skate a bit more (=lose muscle) during the summer and he will be faster with that change only. Not even talking about changing the skating technique here, just simple body physics.

 

[Ruggs225]

I hope so, but speed is hard to fix, you either have it or you don’t, there is only so much improvement you make.

Look what laff did in one season. You can make some pretty big strides if you have the right trainer and right mentality.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Skating IS one of the few skillsets a player can work on in the offseason and improve a lot.

 

[SA16]

Speed is tied to skating. He can make improvements there to significantly get faster, or improve burst.

You can improve your skating but you almost never will get faster considering speed is one of the major things that declines rapidly with age.

 

[Ruggs225]

You can improve your skating but you almost never will get faster considering speed is one of the major things that declines rapidly with age.

He is only 23. You can still gain speed by training properly and improving your technique. Its not like he is over 30 when speed generally starts declining.

 

[IDvsEGO]

You can improve your skating but you almost never will get faster considering speed is one of the major things that declines rapidly with age.

Both things aren’t true.
Players have absolutely fixed their skating so that they are still giving the same effort, but it’s more efficient and thus faster.
additionally Kakko is 23, not 32. He’s on the upswing, not downswing.

 

[bhamill]

Look what laff did in one season. You can make some pretty big strides if you have the right trainer and right mentality.

Laf was working hard on his skating EVERY off season with the same trainer (according to the TRAINER)... sometimes it takes a while, and some confidence, to show.

 

[jay from jersey]

Speed is tied to skating. He can make improvements there to significantly get faster, or improve burst.

This.
That is the key. He doesn’t need to beat Kreider in a foot race to the other end of the rink.
He needs explosion in his first 2-3 strides in order to get separation.

That alone unlocks more things to his game. Time to make a play, whether pass/shot etc…
He’ll likely see good things happen when his feet keep moving which will also help in the confidence department….

The main question is can that all happen here in 1 offseason? And will he get the opportunity to step up into the role?????

Or has the damage already been done and do both sides just want to go in diff directions at this point in time???

 

[bleedblue94]

I'm not sure what excuses you are talking about. I'm personally not excusing anything. Came right out and said I was frustrated and disappointed...
My only point, and it's a hill I'll die on in general, is you don't let emotions like frustration and disappointment make your business decisions... to that point, I wouldn't trade him unless we get at least the value you should for a 23 year old coming off of an injury plagued 0.3ppg season, who scored 40 5v5 points in 80 games at 22 years old with very good defense and very good possession metrics (whether you agree or not, the numbers are the numbers).
I mean I'm literally just saying NYR should make sure they get value for him if they are going to trade him, and if not give him a one year "show me" contract at his QO of 2.4mil... not a very wild take in my opinion, buddy.

Excuses it's a shot at you, it's just in general. There's always something: linemates, deployment, pp time, a snow storm, someone didn't score on kakko's only good pass in 3 games, it's too sunny, whatever.

I'm not suggesting an emotional decision, I'm saying that he has no role here and none evolving. He was benched again in the playoffs. This is three coaches for him that we see the same player and lack of skill.

The issue before then is the team will want to sign him for show me or term at cheap. Kakko is going to want a raise or a term raise so he doesn't get underpaid if he starts producing. This will possibly cause an issue getting a contract done. I will be shocked if he resigns here bc he knows that kreider zib and kakko don't work together so he will be stuffed on the 3rd line again and producing nothing again. So the team won't want to trade him for pennies on the dollar and kakko won't want that role again. It points to an offer sheet.

I said around the deadline that NYR should look to the ducks about a deal of kakko for one of their young d. We could use a d man in the pipeline and the ducks add a young dirty work player to join their young skill.