Kaapo Kakko Fast Facts
Number: 84 Position: Forward
DOB: 2/13/01 Hometown: Turku, Finland Height: 6-1 Weight: 215
How Acquired By Kraken: 2024 Trade with Rangers
NHL Seasons as of 2025: 6
Previous NHL Teams: Rangers, 2019-24
Career Bests: Goals-18 (2022-23), Assists-22 (2022-23), Points-40 (2022-23)
Notable: In the 2019 IIHF World Juniors final, Kakko’s 3rd period goal gave Finland a 3-2 win over USA.
The Seattle Kraken had no intention this summer of letting Kaapo Kakko get away – or having him play one arbitrator-awarded season with a sour taste in his mouth. And the Finnish winger would have been nuts to leave, having flourished after a long-overdue escape from burdensome expectations in New York and a dysfunctional Rangers dressing room.
They, media and Rangers fans expected superstar results from 2019’s 2nd overall draft pick. When Kakko didn’t produce them in a New York minute, all constituencies tore into him. They gave up on him in December, trading Kakko to Seattle for defenseman Will Borgen.
He skated 17 minutes per night for his new squad, 2:30 more than he averaged in his six seasons in New York. Coaches also told him he wouldn’t be punished for creativity, even if a play didn’t work out. Kakko flourished in Seattle, finishing with 10 goals and 20 assists in 49 games. Over the summer, the team and forward agreed on a three-year, $13.5 million bridge deal.
E.J. Hradek of NHL Network points out, “The stigma (of being the 2nd overall pick) is gone now. I think this is a great opportunity for him. I don’t think he really ever had that with the Rangers. It’s hard to produce offensive numbers when you’re never on the power play. Why are you scratching Kakko? He’s been one of their more consistent players.”
Countryman and Seattle teammate Eeli Tolvanen says, “He’s a great player. He’s a big body. He has really good hands. He uses his body well. He can score goals. I think he’s going to be a big piece for us.” Tolvanen and Kakko played together on Finland’s 2019 World Juniors team which captured the gold medal.
At a season ticket Q&A, Kraken general manager Jason Botterill predicted an even better 2025-26 season from Kakko.. “He knows (now) what to expect here in Seattle, he has familiarity with our players.” Center Matty Beniers is one linemate Kakko already knows. “He showed really good chemistry with Matty (Beniers), them reading off each other.”
Botterill freely admits Kakko exceeded expectations. “Once you get a player, it’s always a little different from what you see evaluating him up in the pressbox. We knew he had the size, we knew he was strong on pucks. But some of the little plays he made in the neutral zone, or finding teammates in the offensive zone, that vision and playmaking skill was even higher than we originally thought.
“I was shocked at how good of a playmaker he was. He’s so strong on pucks in the offensive zone. He has a net-front presence, but he also has the ability to pop out in the slot and utilize his shot.”