Trade brewing between Rangers and Wild!
The chatter has only intensified, especially surrounding Kappo Kakko…
Trade rumours are already rampant in New York and only intensified for forward Kaapo Kakko when he was made a healthy scratch by head coach Peter Laviolette on Sunday for the game against the St. Louis Blues.
“I was surprised, yeah. I know you got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out,” Kakko commented. “That’s how I feel, to be honest. Haven’t been on the ice too much when [opponents] score a goal … I have not been the worst guy, but that was me out of the lineup.”
Kakko has now emerged as a top trade candidate for the Blue Shirts and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported during last night’s broadcast that the 23-year-old forward was getting a lot of interest from teams out in the Western Conference, especially the Minnesota Wild.
Adam Herman of Bleacher Report added to the rumour that the Rangers might have asked about Charlie Stramel, who could become a return piece for Kakko.
Kakko was back in the lineup for the Rangers on Tuesday in a shutout loss to the Nashville Predators. He ended the night with a -1 rating, but did record three shots on goal. In 30 games this season, he has put up four goals and 14 points.
As for Stramel, he is the Wild’s first round pick in 2023 and has kicked off his time at Michigan State University, where in 16 games, the young center has collected five goals and 12 points. He may be coveted by many NHL teams looking to make a deal with Minnesota, though I can’t see the Wild parting with him.
New York has won just three of their past 14 games dating back to Nov. 19. and it has been a downhill slide for the team. Rangers general manager Chris Drury has pretty much placed every one of his players on the trade block, and it’s no surprise a guy like Kakko would get interest from all over the league.
Selected second overall in the 2019 draft, Kakko has 61 goals and 131 points in 329 career games. He inked a one-year, $2.4 million deal with the Rangers this past spring amidst trade rumours at that time.
And now, they’re back…
