Rangers trade Kaapo Kakko to Kraken for Will Borgen, 2 draft picks

DALLAS – The New York Rangers traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday for defenseman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick. Kakko finishes his Rangers career with 61 goals and 131 points in 330 games .

New York took Kakko with the pick no. 2 in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has four goals and 14 points in 30 games this season. The 23-year-old started the year strong playing with Will Cuylle and Filip Chytil, but his performances – like the team’s – have dipped during a recent disastrous stretch. Coach Peter Laviolette gave him a healthy scratch Sunday against the Blues, which frustrated the winger.

“I was surprised,” he said after the scratch. “I know you have to do something as a coach when you lose games, but it’s easy to pick the young guy and put him out. That’s how I feel.”

Kakko’s comments did not factor into the team’s decision to move him, according to a league source. The Kraken opened talks with Rangers at the weekend, beating out other offers for the winger. The Rangers were unwilling to make a long-term commitment to Kakko, a pending restricted free agent, and had targeted Borgen for some time.

Kakko has yet to develop into the star team imagine with such a high draft pick, but he is a solid two-way player who spent most of his time on the third line. Seattle knows it’s getting at least that level of player, and maybe someone with more room to grow. His best NHL season came in 2022-23, when he had 18 goals and 40 points.

Both of Kakko’s first two NHL seasons were cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Rangers did not have other Finnish regulars on the team as he adjusted to life in North America. Aside from Tarmo Reunanen, who appeared in four games in 2021, Kakko didn’t have a Finnish teammate until Niko Mikkola joined the team at the 2023 trade deadline.

Kakko played under three NHL coaches during his six years with the Rangers: David Quinn, Gerard Gallant and Laviolette. All three scratched him at some point during their tenures, with Gallant and Laviolette both doing so in the Eastern Conference finals.

The Blues game this season was the first time Laviolette scratched Kakko since Game 2 of the 2024 Eastern Conference finals. Kakko said afterward, “I haven’t been the worst” Rangers player during the team’s slump. In his next game, a 2-0 loss to Nashville, he played just 10:14, less than any other skater on the Rangers.

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Rangers were open to moving Kakko last summer but failed to agree a deal. Speculation died down when he started 2024-25 strong, but the team’s recent struggles and his healthy scratch opened the door again. Given his open frustrations, Kakko seemed like a player who could use a fresh start. Now he’s getting one in Seattle.

Borgen, a 6-foot-3 right-shot defenseman, has two points in 33 games this season but had 20 or more the previous two seasons, including a career-high 25 in 2023-24. He also played every game in Seattle’s run to the second round in 2023. The Kraken thought he was likely to leave when he became a free agent over the summer, according to a league source who factored into their decision to move him.

Borgen is expected to join the team in Dallas. He fills a hole in the Rangers’ defense group, which is without Jacob Trouba (traded to the Anaheim Ducks) and K’Andre Miller (upper body injury). It could also give New York the opportunity to send rookie Victor Mancini back to AHL Hartford for more development. The Rangers are also low on draft picks after trading away many as a contender the past few seasons. Now they’re getting something back as they try to reshape their team.

(Photo: Bob Frid / Imagn Images)