The Seattle Kraken are still trying to develop their squad by adding players who fit into their long-term plans. 

On Tuesday, Seattle GM Jason Botterill locked up a young player the Kraken traded for last season – right winger Kaapo Kakko – to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $4.525 million. 

When the Kraken acquired Kakko in a trade with the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen, Kakko was an underperforming enigma. Right now, the trade looks to be a win-win for the Kraken and Rangers because of each player's new contracts and increased roles, but it could look different when Kakko’s next deal ends.

After setting a career-high 18 goals and 40 points in 82 games in 2022-23, Kakko regressed offensively, falling to 13 goals and 19 points in 61 games in 2023-24, then posting four goals and 14 points in 30 games in 2024-25 with the Rangers. That’s when the Blueshirts dealt him to Seattle in mid-December of last year.

Those weren’t numbers commensurate with someone drafted second overall in 2019. The Rangers acquired a valuable puzzle piece in Borgen, who averaged three minutes more per game than he’d been averaging with the Kraken. The Rangers were sufficiently happy with Borgen that they signed him to a five-year contract extension in January with an average annual value of $4.1 million.

However, Kakko also found his footing after Seattle acquired him. After averaging only 13:17 in his final season-and-a-half in Manhattan, Kakko averaged nearly four minutes more per game with the Kraken, and the 24-year-old Finn generated 10 goals and 30 points in 49 games.

You can see, then, why the Kraken wanted to lock up Kakko for more than a year. His new salary is a huge bump up from the $2.4 million he earned last season, and Botterill is banking on Kakko raising his game to new heights throughout this contract extension. While the Rangers filled a need with the acquisition of the shot-blocking Borgen, you have to wonder if GM Chris Drury will come to regret giving up on Kakko after five-and-a-half seasons.

In fairness to Drury, Kakko may never live up to the expectations that come with being such a high draft pick. He didn't in New York, and the Kraken must be wary of Kakko's regression after having a potential breakout season in 2022-23.

But let’s look at this optimistically from Botterill’s perspective: if Kakko finds a way to get to the 40-assist, 60-point range, the Kraken will be thrilled with Kakko’s new deal. If he does reach the potential he had in 2019 and become an elite first-line right winger, then the trade was franchise-changing. At that point, Rangers fans will have legitimate questions about their team souring on Kakko as a long-term asset.

Those are all just possibilities at the moment, though. As it stands, Kakko has to be pleased with the investment the Kraken have made in him, and the Rangers clearly are pleased with the development of Borgen. But the optics on that trade may evolve over time, and Rangers fans may ultimately rue the day Drury dealt Kakko. 

You’re never 100 percent sure how young players will turn out, and the Rangers made a calculated gamble that Kakko wasn’t and would never be a fit there.

Sometimes a trade can initially help both teams, but with the passage of a few years, one team or another can eventually emerge as the winner. That may prove to be the case with Kakko, the Kraken and the Rangers.

Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.