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Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko

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McRanger92 said:
However,If he is in the top 6/or on Mika and Kreider's wing, we arent winning anything.
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I do think that if anyone other than Buchnevich is on that line we aren't winning a thing. Because he was the last player to make that duo really click.

I sincerely hope that Laviolette has something up his sleeve to help Kakko break out, and bounce back Zibanejad.
 
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McRanger92 said:
I feel like how quickly this happened shows that Kakko and the Rangers are on the same page going forward at least. Either he is definitely moving and they got this out of the way as a formality for the acquiring team, or, both sides are committed to each other for Kakko's redemption Tour 3.0. However,If he is in the top 6/or on Mika and Kreider's wing, we arent winning anything.
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i mean, if Mika and Kreider are together in the top 6, we're not winning anything anyway. Kakko's got nothing to do with that
 
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Good. I really want him to succeed as a Ranger. I thought he was poised to take a step last year until he got injured early on. If he can do what Laf did this offseason, he'll be extended again.

I'm glad Drury recognizes the lack of depth at RW and the potential this kid still has.
 
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LOFIN said:
I do think that if anyone other than Buchnevich is on that line we aren't winning a thing. Because he was the last player to make that duo really click.

I sincerely hope that Laviolette has something up his sleeve to help Kakko break out, and bounce back Zibanejad.
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Zuccarello was great on that line before Buch. Zucc and Buch looked good on that line because they are qualified top 6 players. Every other yokel who the Rangers have put there since they left hasnt been. My preference is splitting them but im pretty confident our 5v5 numbers will improve as a whole when we actually have 6 players for our top 6.
 
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No one really had much success with the CK/Mika duo this year. Chytil getting injured really hurt Kakko. Think they could've done some damage together on the 3rd line. Kakko has the tools, he needs linemates that are willing to cycle with him. Lots of spare parts for linemates this season. Wennberg winded up being exactly what we thought he was, very limited offensively. This was Cuylle's rookie season.

It'll be interesting to see what route they go. They can bring in a top 6 wing via free agency or trade, that'll push Kakko down on the 3rd presumably with Chytil. They can feast on better matchups. Maybe Berard pushes for that LW spot. Or they can test their luck with Kakko in the top 6 again. Either Lavi will have to mix up the lines and find players that will compliment each other or Kakko & the duo will have to find a way to play together. Those 2 are trying to generate off the rush, Kakko likes to slow down and work the zone... something has to give. Kakko needs to get a little quicker this summer.

Situation reminds me a bit of Burakovsky when he was in Washington. Promising young player, needed a change of scenery. Traded him at 24. His durability has been an issue but since leaving Washington he's scored at a ~60 point pace.
 
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I'm still confident that you won't see Kakko traded until the TDL (or 2 weeks before TDL) if at all. Let's hope Lav can get Kakko to go full Laf.
 
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Hopefully this will make a deal more palatable as the other team has specifics with respect to his contract. Additionally, test the market on Chytil. I feel like the potential downside given his history has now overtaken any upside. I’m very skeptical he’ll get through a full season next year if he gets knocked around too much (or by even one mammoth hit).
 
Set him up with the same or similar skating coach as Laf to get him quicker on his acceleration and tighter on his edges.

Work on quickness getting inside and his shot and who knows, he may flirt with a 50+ point year. Which for his role would be fantastic

Easy to forget he sniffed a 20 goal season in 23.

NO doubt he needs to improve in areas though. He knows it.
 
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Kid better be working his celiac, diabetic ass off this summer. He’s a man now. No more excuses. Come back looking like fellow country man Rantanen. Beast mode.

This is it.
 
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HockeyBasedNYC said:
Set him up with the same or similar skating coach as Laf to get him quicker on his acceleration and tighter on his edges.

Work on quickness getting inside and his shot and who knows, he may flirt with a 50+ point year. Which for his role would be fantastic

Easy to forget he sniffed a 20 goal season in 23.

NO doubt he needs to improve in areas though. He knows it.
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His skating was a non-issue til the knee injury this season.
 
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UnSandvich said:
His skating was a non-issue til the knee injury this season.
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It was a deficiency, but not an obvious issue. Still something he really should work on.

We'll see if he remains with the team for the season. Some people were right in pointing out that Drury re-signed Howden in 2021 and then traded him like a week later. This 1 year QO deal makes perfect sense for both parties in any case. If Kakko actually wants to stay, he didn't have a case for a raise. If he actually wants a trade, Drury probably convinced him (and rightfully so) that with this deal in place there could be more interest as teams acquiring him know what contract they are getting.

We'll be smarter in a month.
 
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