As trade rumors over the last week have surfaced regarding New York Rangers winger Kaapo Kakko, the Rangers are getting criticism from parts of the fanbase that think the way they have developed Kaapo has been the problem as opposed to the player himself, who is almost certainly going to move to a greener pasture and succeed in a new setup. Kakko has not found the success he was expected to have in New York, and seeing him linked with an exit already is going to worry some.
Moving into the debate around the future of this player, it's completely up in the air. Chris Drury is listening to offers to try and free up cap space as well as use his value to try and get a player back that will help the rangers right now more than Kaapo will. Whether or not his assessment is right will depend on the player, and you can let me know who you'd want to see the Rangers go after. I'm almways interested to hear your thoughts.
Anyway, this leaves the conversation about Kakko up in the air. As the second overall pick in the 2019 NHL entry draft, this is a player whose value is still sky high. A lot of teams will think they can reclaim the project Kakko is and find him to be a solid buy low candidate considering his young age. With the assurance that there will be interest in the Finnish winger, where should the Rangers be moving him to?
Candidly, I'd rather see the Rangers retain the services of the young Finn because this stinks of a move that will come back to bite them where the sun doesn't shine, but with that in mind, the Rangers know that they will have to be smart when it comes to trying to get the maximum return for an asset that can haunt them forever, Look at how the Senators regret trading Mika Zibanejad, Calgary and Carolina regret not being able to add young Adam Fox, there's a history of young players turning around in a fresh setting.