Rangers Reportedly Fielding Calls For Kaapo Kakko; Blueshirts All In?

According to Darren Dreger, sources believe that Chris Drury is taking calls on Kaapo Kakko ahead of the trade deadline. Moving the 22-year-old forward signifies that the team is willing to win the Stanley Cup at all costs.

According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the New York Rangers are fielding calls on Kaapo Kakko, the club's second-overall draft pick in 2019. 

"Kaapo Kaako is an asset that perhaps Chris Drury, the general manager of the Rangers, considers using as trade bait." Dreger stated on TSN's "Insider Trading.

"I know multiple sources said that Drury is taking calls on Kakko. Losing Chytil is a big blow for the Rangers but New York has the cap space and potentially the assets, like Kakko, to acquire a significant piece." 

Trading Kakko ultimately signals that the team is all in to compete for the Stanley Cup.

For a club that currently has three forwards under 30 years old in Will Cuylle, Alexis Lafreniere, and Kakko. They account for $5.235 million and 6.3% of the $83.5 salary cap. 

Kakko has posted just six points in 28 contests this season. In 267 career contests, he's recorded  104 points (49 goals, 55 assists). 

He was selected second overall in 2019 by John Davidson and Jeff Gorton to continue the organization's commitment to rebuilding with young talent.

 At the time, Kakko was billed as potentially an equal to Jack Hughes, scoring the golden goal for Finland in the 2019 World Junior Championship and setting records for TPS 

It was a mission the New York Rangers had previously never committed to. 

Now five seasons into his NHL career. There is a case that Kakko has not played his way into security with the club. If the Rangers are open to calls, it is with the mission to improve the team. 

A club that initially was looking to create an enduring championship window potentially moving Kakko spells win-now for the Rangers.

Macro questions loom. At what cost, and for what in return? Where is Kakko's stock or trade value? Where does the team see Kakko in the future? If they do not, why?

For starters, the right-wing position is thin for the Rangers. Kakko and Blake Wheeler have interchanged on the first and third lines, and left winger Alexis Lafreniere has skated the entire season on his off-side with Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck. 

The return can not be a rental. A player with a potentially high ceiling who still contributes as a third-line checking forward who plays responsible defense and puck manages should not be an asset swapped for a rental. 

Kakko's role in the team's future could be the purpose of the move. 

The 22-year-old may not have displayed the same breakout that Filip Chytil had last season and Alexis Lafreniere has this season. Kakko has never played top power-play minutes. 

He may want more of an opportunity than third-line minutes to continue to reach his potential. 

This season, he has played alongside Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider who have not been on the mark, and Nick Bonino and Will Cuylle. 

The latter doesn't serve the young forward well, playing for a club that moved Pavel Buchnevich to open up the top six for him or Lafreniere to substitute in for.

If they do not see the value in what Kakko can bring to the table as a third-line forward, and Kakko is looking for power-play time and top six minutes, moving on makes sense for the organization. 

It is a trade that can't be fumbled. 

The return has to be spot on what the club needs. To move on from one of three sub-thirty-year-old forwards knocks on the team's future. 

They need a top-line right wing, third-line center, and depth additions to compete for the Stanley Cup. 

Promoting from within could mean playing Kakko on the top-line right wing, giving Connor Mackey an extended look on the bottom pairing, keeping Jonny Brodzinski at the third-line center, or another move that does not require the Rangers to sacrifice future assets.

Adding from outside of the organization to bolster the roster means adding a top-line right winger who is either in their prime or a proven all-around contributor, adding muscle depth on defense and offense, and acquiring a 3C. 

The lists are speculation, and likely will not be one extreme or the other. A mix of adding players via trade, or promoting from within will only help the current state of the team on paper. 

Conflicting ideologies don't make for a great recipe. 

The thesis to begin the season under new head coach Peter Laviolette was to get the most out of the current roster that has the pieces capable of winning a championship. 

The organization might have a change of heart from the original theory in July. Maybe in the first 49 games, the staff was trying to get blood from a stone. 

The last two months of hockey for the Blueshirts have not been convincing enough to sacrifice the future for the now. Since Dec. 1 they are 14-12-2. 

In its current state, the Rangers can not trade blue-chip prospects or first-round draft picks for short-term pieces. That's why Kakko is piquing the interest of front offices. 

The last two seasons have displayed all of the Ranger's capabilities as an organization regarding salary cap and asset management. 

General manager Chris Drury time and time again proves that he is willing to do whatever it takes to get the team into championship contention. 

Will Cuylle has stepped up and earned vital roles on the team. Superstars Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko were added to bolster the roster. Frank Vatrano and Andrew Copp have delivered as prime rental pieces to lift the team to a deep playoff run.

It is a tale of two theories and they may intersect. Trading Kaapo Kakko would be a win-at-all-costs move.