DALLAS — As he got out of the sauna at the New York Rangers’ team hotel Wednesday evening in Dallas, Kaapo Kakko thought he was going to get changed and head to dinner with his teammates. Then he checked his phone.
General manager Chris Drury had called him three times.
“Called him back and kind of knew something was going to happen,” said Kakko, the No. 2 pick in the 2019 draft. “He wanted to meet me and just told me ‘You got traded.’”
The Kraken had acquired him in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick. Kakko packed his bags and caught a flight out of Dallas to Chicago, where he will make his Kraken debut Thursday evening.
Seattle general manager Ron Francis said he’s been in touch with Rangers general manager Chris Drury over the past five to seven days. Then talks heated up in the past 48 hours. The two talked Wednesday morning before Seattle boarded its plane to Chicago, and they texted during the flight. Once the Kraken landed, the two managers had a phone call and finalized the deal.
The move came after Rangers coach Peter Laviolette healthy scratched Kakko on Sunday in St. Louis. The forward expressed frustration at the decision two days later, saying, “It’s easy to pick the young guy and put him out.” Francis said he was under the impression Drury got calls from other teams after Kakko sat against the Blues.
“We had already started having conversations when the comments came out,” Francis said. “It’s kind of an awkward situation. You’ve got a disgruntled guy in your locker room. Did that speed things up? It probably did. But at the end of the day, I think Chris wasn’t just going to do something to do something.”
The 23-year-old Kakko, who has 131 points in 330 games with the Rangers, welcomed the move. He called it a fresh start and believes that’s what he needs. Asked directly if he ever asked for a trade, he acknowledged “There were maybe talks about that.” He was a restricted free agent after a difficult 2023-24 season but ended up signing a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Rangers. “I wanted to play for them,” he said.
Kakko told reporters he loved his time in New York and added that he “wasn’t good enough” in the 2023-24 season, during which he missed time with injury and had only 19 points in 61 games. He said he felt both he and the Rangers were ready for a change, especially with the team in a 3-11-0 rut.
“The team was not playing well enough,” he said. “I was kind of waiting (thinking) something is going to happen, and then I knew also it might be me.”
Kakko wasn’t the first to go. The Rangers traded captain Jacob Trouba to Anaheim earlier in the month, threatening to put him on waivers if he did not waive his no-trade clause. Kakko said the stretch of losses led to challenges for the whole team.
“You don’t have your captain anymore over there; he’s a good guy, everyone liked him,” he said. “There were a lot of things going on. When you’re losing games, it’s never a good thing. You want to play, you want to win. So, that was kind of hard for everyone.”
Kakko wanted more ice time than he got in New York, where he averaged 13:17 in 91 games under Laviolette. Francis said Kakko will start off getting a shot in the team’s top six, which he hopes will help bring out more in his game. The team will also play him on the power play, potentially in the net-front position. The general manager hopes that, given his age, there’s still more upside in his game.
Laviolette said he talked to Kakko after the trade and thanked him for his time with the Rangers. Chris Kreider called the forward a terrific teammate and said he enjoyed watching Kakko grow from an 18-year-old rookie to a more open, comfortable version of himself now.
“It’s the hardest part of the business,” Kreider said of saying goodbye.
“Unbelievable guy,” Mika Zibanejad said. “Had a lot of laughs with him and obviously played a lot of games, too. … I’m sad to see him go.”
On the other end of the trade is Borgen, who turned 28 on Thursday and made it to Dallas in time for practice. Francis met with him face-to-face Wednesday to tell him of the trade, and he got on a plane that night.
“There’s never a good time for this,” Francis said. “You’re wishing him a happy birthday and a merry Christmas and you’re telling him he’s been traded.”
Originally drafted by Buffalo, Borgen became a regular with the Kraken, who nabbed him in the 2021 expansion draft. He had a difficult start to the 2024-25 season with Seattle, logging only two points in 33 games with poor underlying numbers, but was a solid contributor the two seasons before. He had 20 or more points in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 and played in all 14 Kraken playoff games when they made the second round in 2023.
“It’s mixed emotions,” the 6-foot-3 defenseman said of the trade. “I was in Seattle since the beginning there and had a lot of fun there, but I’m excited to be here. Original-Six team, New York City. … Looking forward to it.”
Borgen, a pending unrestricted free agent, said he wasn’t surprised by the trade, especially with how his season was going under Dan Bylsma, who is in his first season as Kraken head coach. Borgen played regularly alongside Jamie Oleksiak in the Kraken’s top four the past two seasons, but this year he has gotten less ice time, mostly away from Oleksiak.
“It was a different fit for me, different role than I played in the last couple years,” he said. “No hard feelings. It just wasn’t working out.”
Added Francis: “Opportunity wise, for Will, he understands this is a good chance for him.”
Borgen describes himself as a good-skating defenseman who can bring physicality. He will make his Rangers’ debut on Friday against the Stars. With Trouba traded and K’Andre Miller out with an upper-body injury, he will likely see plenty of ice time early.
“Hopefully the change is good for Will,” Francis said. “And hopefully the change is good for Kaapo, as well.”
Trocheck dispels rumor, defends Drury
As Kakko went through his first morning skate with the Kraken, his former team practiced in Dallas. With the team struggling, Drury addressed the players together before the skate.
Laviolette seemed to make an effort to have a high-energy, lighthearted day. The team had a shootout competition at the end of the skate. The coaches joined in, much to the delight of the players.
After they were done, Vincent Trocheck requested to speak with reporters to dispel a report that the Rangers had a players-only meeting criticizing Drury.
“That could not be further from the truth,” Trocheck said. “If we’re having a closed-door meeting with just the players, I think the last thing we’re going to do is complain about our general manager. When we have closed-door meetings in here, it’s about us.”
Trocheck confirmed that the Rangers players met immediately after their 5-1 loss Saturday to the Kings. The center was frustrated by the report, though, because the meeting was not about Drury.
As for the trades, Trocheck said he loves both Kakko and Trouba, the two players shipped out during the team’s freefall.
“You never want to see anybody go,” Trocheck said. “But also we’re losing games right now. Chris has a job. You can’t just sit there and let us continue to lose and do nothing. His job is on the line as well. He’s doing what he can to put the right guys on the ice and make the right moves that he thinks are going to help us win hockey games. Yeah, it’s sad, but at the same time you’ve got to win hockey games if you want to keep everybody in this locker room.”
Other notes
- Miller did not join the team in Dallas, but he’s skating on his own in New York, Laviolette said.
- Artemi Panarin (upper body, day to day) skated in a non-contact jersey. The Rangers’ top scorer has missed the past two games, and his team has scored only two goals with him out.
- The Rangers recalled Matt Rempe. He did not get to Dallas in time for practice but could play Friday.
- Borgen will wear No. 17. He wore No. 3 in Seattle, but that’s retired for Harry Howell. He requested the lowest available number and got No. 17.
(Top photo of Kaapo Kakko: Steve Roberts / Imagn Images)
