Agents weigh in on Kaapo Kakko’s performance and New York Rangers offseason
Ever wonder what some agents think about the New York Rangers? The Athletic’s Craig Custance sent out a survey to 21 player agents to ask a variety of questions. He did so on the condition of anonymity in order to elicit unfiltered responses. Here’s what some had to say about the Blueshirts.
Kaapo Kakko changed one agent’s opinion during the playoffs
One of the questions asked was; Which player or coach changed your opinion the most during the playoff bubble? Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point received the most votes with six for obvious reasons. Dallas’ head coach Rick Bowness garnered 4 votes.
On the list was one Rangers player, Kaapo Kakko. The Finnish rookie and #2 overall pick had some great moments during the season but struggled for the most part. He found himself relegated to the third line on many nights and sometimes pinned to the bench late in games.
Coming out of the pause, Kakko stormed onto the scene and started firing pucks and driving to the net in game one against Carolina. He looked like a different player and one agent noticed.
“Kaapo Kakko. Seeing him emerge and mature after that period off,” the agent said. “I thought his maturity level and the way his approach to the game really improved.”
Related: NHL realignment and how that will hurt the Rangers next season
New York Rangers offseason recognized as one of the best
Another question on the survey was; Which team has had the best offseason so far? Montreal was properly recognized for improving their team this offseason as were the Ottawa Senators. Of course, one agent understood that winning the lottery and drafting Alexis Lafreniere was not all Jeff Gorton did this offseason.
“The New York Rangers by getting the first overall pick, they were lucky. But by getting rid of Staal’s contract, which other teams would have loved to do, they were able to do it,” the anonymous agent explained of the choice. They clarified the whole situation by (buying out) Henrik Lundqvist. They’re setting themselves up in a very good way. They got their guys (Strome, Lemieux, DeAngelo, Georgiev) in on decent contracts.”
I couldn’t agree more. Jeff Gorton did a masterful job this offseason considering his cap situation and the amount of performance bonuses they will need to account for.
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