Urho Vaakanainen, like Will Borgen, is a member of the New York Rangers being evaluated in this series that joined the team during the season, and as such didn't enter the year with team specific expectations. Vaakanainen, along with a 2025 fourth round pick, was acquired on December 6, 2024 in a deal that sent Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks. The trade was one of the first attempts by President and General Manager Chris Drury made to overhaul the defense, and in this case it was more about who was leaving rather than who was joining. He was signed to a two-year extension with a cap hit of $1.55 million on March 7, and he projects to be a sixth or seventh defenseman for the 2025-26 campaign.
Expectations
Vaakanainen appeared in just five games with the Ducks, due to injuries, before being traded to the Rangers. The year prior he skated in 68 games with Anaheim, and he averaged 17:29 per night. The Ducks have been a bad team for several seasons, and Vaakanainen has just been "a guy" since entering the league. It is fair to say that expectations were low for him when he joined the team, and the hope for the Rangers was that they could offer the 2017 first rounder an opportunity to show he could be a serviceable third-pair defenseman.
Performance
Vaakanainen skated in 46 games for the Rangers and logged 16:43 per game while posting a line of 2-13-15 which ended up being a career year for him. That's the extent of the praise you can heap on Vaakanainen, because his underlying metrics were pretty crummy.
In 721 5v5 minutes, he posted an expected goals for percentage of 43.86 which was worst among roster regulars on defense per Evolving-Hockey. He also posted a Corsi for percentage of 46.09 which was eighth worse among defenders (Braden Schneider, Chad Ruhwedel, and Victor Mancini were only ones worse).
He did end up finishing with a 54.6 goals for percentage which was second best among roster regulars on defense, but that was very lucky on his part when you look at the disparity between his GF% and xGF% numbers. His inability to generate offense at 5v5 negates a large portion of the defensive impact he has, and makes him a net negative player overall.
Vaakanainen was paired with Schneider for 524 minutes, and the duo posted a slash line that includes a 53.78 GF%, a 47.33 CF%, and a 47.24 xGF%. For a third pairing, these numbers are fine, but the Rangers overall defense needs work if they want to get back to being a Stanley Cup contender.
Where They Go From Here
This may seem harsh, but the Rangers have taken a pretty underwhelming approach when it comes to supporting the blue line. Adam Fox is an elite Norris Trophy winning defenseman, and beyond that there's just a huge drop off. The three additions on defense this year were Borgen, Vaakanainen, and Carson Soucy, and neither of those three were all that great.
Drury's decision to extend Vaakanainen as early as he did was a little puzzling given how played in a limited sample for the Rangers. While it is a minimal deal that doesn't handcuff Drury by any means, there are loads of defenders better than Vaakanainen who are available in free agency each July.
This feels like a case where they appreciate his pedigree as a former first rounder, and they are hoping to find a diamond in the rough. Every player will get a chance to prove themself under a new head coach with Mike Sullivan rejoining the organization, and maybe Vaakanainen is a player who will improve with a better defensive system and structure in place.