The Kaapo Kakko konundrum

The Kaapo Kakko conundrum

The New York Rangers have, to this point, enjoyed a stellar 2023-24 campaign, leading the Metropolitan Division and sitting just behind the gravity-defying Boston Bruins for the conference lead. They have a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate in Artemi Panarin and have managed to do it despite some very patchy form from megastar goalie Igor Shesterkin, as well as an injury keeping star blue-liner Adam Fox out of the line-up for a period and dynamic centre Filip Chytil sitting on the long term injury list.

Another player missing for an extended period was talented winger Kaapo Kakko, though with far less fanfare. Why the lack of attention, considering the 22-year-old’s status as a top-line winger and former No. 2 overall pick? Well, three points in 20 games will do that.

A the beginning of the season, I penned a piece about the potential breakouts of Kakko and fellow underperforming blue chipper Alexis Lafreniere and whilst the latter is now playing career-best hockey, Kakko clearly was not. After 21 games on the sidelines, Kakko returned to the Rangers line-up last weekend and it’s no coincidence that the Rangers broke out of their slump for back-to-back with the Finn on the ice.

Whilst acknowledging that a team with only two losing streaks on the season doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses, let’s think about the Rangers’ flaws, for a moment. For mine, there are three that stick out: Forward depth, bottom six scoring and defending the rush. Kakko helps in all three facets.

For all of his scoring difficulties, Kaapo Kakko has become an outstanding defensive forward. He’s a very good skater who has learned how to use his size and strength to protect the puck. He is aggressive on the forecheck and a diligent back-checker who reads the game well and positions himself intelligently. Kakko’s more defensive mindset and instincts often slow, if not completely blow up, odd-man rushes before they develop and speed skating directly at them is still the Rangers kryptonite.

Upon his return from injury, Kakko resumed his place on the right of the Rangers nominal top line. Whether he deserves that spot is a matter of opinion. Personally, I believe he does but more on that later. No matter where you place Kakko in the line-up, his return means that two from he, Blake Wheeler and impressive rookie Will Cuylle will man the wings on the third line, meaning that the likes of Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey and Tyler Pitlick are not stretched beyond their means. It also means that we don’t need to see Riley Nash or Jake Leschyshyn in the line-up any time soon.

Whatever you think of Goodrow, and his return of five points for a $3.6 million cap hit doesn’t look great, the defensive presence and sheer grit that he provides are essential to the bottom line of any contender. He was quietly essential to Tampa’s pair of Stanley Cup wins. However, he is not and will never be a scorer. Even at his best, Vesey was a one-goal-in-four player and he’s not nearly that guy anymore. They don’t need the burden of having of generating offense on their shoulders. Wheeler and Cuylle can take care of that. In that sense, the return of Kakko puts the wing rotation into some order.

It also means that general manager Chris Drury won’t have to sacrifice assets at the trade deadline for a right winger for the 43^rd year in a row (Subs: please confirm). That said, the Rangers do have a gaping hole at 3^rd line centre. Jonny Brodzinski was white hot after his call-up from the AHL, but has cooled off considerably. All you need to know is that the 30-year-old has nine points so far this season … a career high.

I would like to see the hulking Adam Edstrom given a few more games with the big club, but ultimately the return of Chytil can’t come soon enough. Whilst a recent Instagram post of him on the ice with his trainer and former League and Ranger legend Jaromir Jagr is encouraging, there is still no formal timeline for Chytil’s return. Be it through Chytil getting healthy or Drury making a move, the Rangers are just one player away from a formidable forward group.

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So, how does Coach Peter Laviolette organise his forwards with Kakko healthy?

Let’s get this out of the way: The 2nd line is untouchable. Panarin, as mentioned, is an MVP candidate. Lafreniere’s move from left wing to right has proven successful with the 22-year-old on course for a career-high 51 points this season.

Chytil started the season as their centre, with Vincent Trocheck moving into that spot when Chytil went down. Trocheck started the season slowly with three points in his first seven games. Since centring Panarin and Lafreniere he’s put up 40 points in 36 games. Obviously, they’re quality numbers. That line absolutely MUST remain intact.

Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider are joined at the hip but the spot to their right may as well have a turnstile put on it. Just this season all three of Kakko, Wheeler and Cuylle have seen time there, whilst Lafreniere and Panarin have pulled the occasional double shift on the Mika line. We won’t delve back into the cast of characters who have lined up on their right over the past few years.

Whilst Kreider and to a lesser degree Zibanejad are solid in their own right without the puck, their primary focus is generating offense. Kakko is, as touched on above, a much more balanced two-way forward. He covers for his linemates more often than most casual observers realise. It’s why that line was relatively successful, despite both Mika and Kakko struggling out of the gate this season.

Additionally, Kakko’s ability to hold onto the puck and successfully battle in the corners means that Kreider doesn’t have to. As good as he is out wide, you want Kreider in the slot, planting his massive backside in the way of opposition goalies and using his deft touch to score on deflections and redirections.

With time, Cuylle could play the Kakko role on that line but is too green at the minute; Wheeler used to play that role in Winnipeg but that was before the turn of the decade. A quick aside on Wheeler: He copped a lot of heat for failing to score in his first 10 games as a Ranger. Since then he has 17 points in 33 games which is perfectly fine for a 3^rd line winger. He’s proven a solid addition.

All in all, the injury to Kaapo Kakko could be a blessing in disguise for both the player and the club. The youngster was clearly in his own head earlier this campaign, getting himself into good positions by sheer instinct but then freezing the moment he had to decide with the puck in what looked like a textbook case of “paralysis by analysis.”

“It just didn’t work out in the beginning of the season,” he told reporters after the Rangers win over the Seattle Kraken this week, according to John Flanigan of Yahoo Sports. “I don’t think I played well and I didn’t like those games at all. But I got some time off to work out and think about my game and I’m back now and hopefully better than before.”

He has certainly looked more confident since returning. But for a stunning Charlie Lindgren save, he would have scored in his first game back against Washington. His goal against the Kraken was taken with a confidence he simply didn’t have in October or November.

Kaapo Kakko’s enforced absence might just remove the pressure of reaching a certain point’s threshold as a top-six forward. Without that monkey on his back, he can simply … play, and that might bring out the best in a hockey player who, despite his immense talent, has yet to really put it all together.

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