Player Discussion Kaapo Kakko

NYR Viper

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Sep 9, 2007
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So I say this over the summer. And absolutely get laughed at , we’re less than 10 games in. And now everyone is saying it.

I didn’t disagree with it, although waiting until 30-40 games into the year made sense. He was coming off a bad season and I’m sure any contract offering would have been undervalued in his eyes. I still have faith that he is a good player.
 

HockeyBasedNYC

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Aug 2, 2005
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Been playing strong. That line is a threat every time they are out there.

Mika's line is the new 2b/3a, but they are still considered the 1st line by some and its hilarious.
 

IDvsEGO

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Oct 11, 2016
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Kid is trending to be a playmaker rather than a goal scorer. It's a hot take.
Hes got the strength to score goals, Either they’ll be in close, or he works on his release.
He needs to get his shot off a lot faster than he does, but he’s a very talented player.

This is the Kakko I’ve seen for years, that everyone forgets about.
Big guy, not the fastest but fantastic edges which work down low.

Give him a legit center who can open space and he’s exactly what you want in the playoffs
 

IDvsEGO

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Oct 11, 2016
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His game has been to pull guys to him and dish the puck off. It's why he has excelled with linemates who are okay with him having the puck. It's why he flat out doesn't work with Panarin.
It’s why I wanted us to make a play for laine.
Finnish, and absolutely would love to just get open and rifle one timers.
 

B17 Apricots

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May 18, 2016
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So I say this over the summer. And absolutely get laughed at , we’re less than 10 games in. And now everyone is saying it.
I had to pull up a quote from last year 🤣🤣 Can't see a way to post it. I replied back to QJL in January last season when KK was "down and out".. had to agree with him, I said I would've gave KK the deal that Kotkaniemi got in Carolina.

When the salary cap rises and we get past 90 million and then 95 million, good 3rd liners could be making +4Mil per. So at bare minimum Kakko is already there, but there was plenty of untapped talent still remaining.
 

B17 Apricots

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May 18, 2016
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Kakko has made beautiful little plays since he's been here. A lot of times they didn't result in points. He's been the king of almost. We saw a nice little break out for these guys when they had the kid line together a couple years ago. They each brought their own thing, that line worked together well. Then last year he spent a ton of time with CK and Mika, that line didn't really gel. We've started to see that maybe he wasn't just a weak link there but that the bromance has gone completely sour.
 

RangersFan1994

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Aug 20, 2019
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His game has been to pull guys to him and dish the puck off. It's why he has excelled with linemates who are okay with him having the puck. It's why he flat out doesn't work with Panarin.


I sometimes wonder if that is why Kakko has not worked with Mika and Kreider when he got that chance.
 

IDvsEGO

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Oct 11, 2016
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Kakko has made beautiful little plays since he's been here. A lot of times they didn't result in points. He's been the king of almost. We saw a nice little break out for these guys when they had the kid line together a couple years ago. They each brought their own thing, that line worked together well. Then last year he spent a ton of time with CK and Mika, that line didn't really gel. We've started to see that maybe he wasn't just a weak link there but that the bromance has gone completely sour.
Yup. And those little plays are actually important for a winning team.
It’s those things that you want to see guys do.
It’s why I defended him for so long. He may not score at the same rate as say Laf, but he has enough talent to easily be a 70 pt guy with the right line and pp time, while also providing mark stone level defense.

I sometimes wonder if that is why Kakko has not worked with Mika and Kreider when he got that chance.
Having watched the games, there were a bunch of beautiful opportunities that he created that they couldn’t take advantage of.

It wasn’t till late last year that I realized it was that Mika was just getting bad though.
 
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NYR Viper

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Sep 9, 2007
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I sometimes wonder if that is why Kakko has not worked with Mika and Kreider when he got that chance.

Yes it is, and it was evident last year. The only offense that line generated was from Kakko winning a board battle and springing those two for an odd-man chance. It just so happened that at that time, those guys couldn't finish it. But in the offensive zone, it's like Kreider and Zibanejad just don't know how to cycle or find space to create chances consistently.
 

IDvsEGO

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Oct 11, 2016
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Yes it is, and it was evident last year. The only offense that line generated was from Kakko winning a board battle and springing those two for an odd-man chance. It just so happened that at that time, those guys couldn't finish it. But in the offensive zone, it's like Kreider and Zibanejad just don't know how to cycle or find space to create chances consistently.
Yup. The best example was when Kakko literally stripped a defender at the offensive blue line, gave a gorgeous back pass to Mika, who had a 2-0 with the goalie, and he tried passing to Ck and the pass didn’t connect.
 

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