Following the Rangers' end of their season, as has been tradition the past several years, regardless of regular season or playoffs, I put together a list of the top-25 off-season questions. Over the past few months, as noted the last few blogs, I covered the majority previously. In this blog, I am handling question #13, "IWere you satisfied with the growth seen from Kappo Kakko and what's your realistic view as to what we should expect in years 2 and 3?"
1) Should-Ryan-Strome-be-brought-back-and-if-so-what-kind-of-deal -(also, will getting Lafreniere result in New York moving a winger to get a 2c, making Strome expendable) 2) Has Jesper Fast played his last game as a Blueshirt? 3) Did Tony DeAngelo price himself out of the team's plans with his regular season or did his price tab dip enough due to his poor series versus Carolina? (update: does his hamstring injury during the play-in round need to be taken into consideration)? 4) Is David Quinn the right coach for the team moving forward? How concerning is his inability to adjust in-game and between games? If no, who might be under consideration? (update: does he need to make the playoffs and/or win a round, due to winning the lottery and sweep at the hands of Carolina, to keep his job?) 5) Should we prepare the jersey raising for Henrik Lundqvist now? (update: did anything JD said convince you that he might be back next season?)6) Can Filip Chytil be the second line center if Strome is not brought back? (update: is his future at center or wing? 7) With Nils Lundkvist and K'Andre Miller in the pipeline, does New York have enough D to get to the next level? 8) Will Vitali Kravtsov be in the Opening Night lineup? 9) s Pavel Buchnevich now "expendable" due to Lafreniere coming on board or will the Rangers regret dealing him based on his untapped potential? 10) Do the Rangers need to name a captain? If so, should that be Mika Zibanejad or Chris Kreider? Regardless of your view, did Kreider's comments in the Game 3 press conference sway your view?
11) Which is the true Brett Howden, the one that did little from October to March or the one we saw against Carolina? 12) Do you view the three-game sweep as a good learning experience, as mentioned by several including Davidson, for the neophytes on the team or is it too early to make that call? 13) Were you satisfied with the growth seen from Kappo Kakko and what's your realistic view as to what we should expect in years 2 and 3? 14) If Lundqvist is not back, do you want Alexandar Georgiev as Igor Shesterkin's 2020-21 backup or are you dealing him for additional assets? If bringing him back next year, are you signing him for more than one season? 15) Are you concerned with Artemiy Panarin's small late-season swoon? No goals in the last eight games before the pandemic and just one goal in the three-game sweep?16) What is the identity of this Rangers' team? Do we know? Is one needed? 17) Can Brendan Lemiuex repeat how he played in Game 3 against Carolina or was that the aberration and not the norm? 18) What should be done with Lias Andersson? (from Tommy G on 8/7) 19) Who will be Jacob Trouba's partner next season if it's not Smith? (from Tommy G on 8/7) 20) How does the looming Expansion Draft affect the decision made for a particular signing/trade/buyout? (from Hedgedog 8/8)
21) If buying one player out, presuming that it's not Lundqvist for a variety of reasons, is it Staal or Smith, or do you not buyout anyone? 22) Presuming Lafreniere is the pick, on which line does he start the season? If New York makes no major acquisitions, what is your top-nine and fourth line? Is Morgan Barron on the team to start the season? 23) Who do you want to target in free agency or via trade? (please be realistic in your proposals. That applies to who New York could get and what they would give up, so no 4-for-1 offers where the team grossly overpays. (new) 24) Does Gord Murphy end up on the coaching staff for 2020-21 or is someone else brought in to helm the defense and the penalty kill 25) When do you think New York contends for the Cup? 2021-22, 22-23 or other? (new)
Taken second overall last season, expectations were through the roof for Kakko. As we saw, and we know, yet may have ignored, not every rookie takes the league by storm immediately. An 18-year old coming to a new country, adapting to a new style of play and league, who could have imagined that he might have struggled (sarcasm dripping).
This is what I wrote back in March when I posted my player evaluations, bridging off what Larry Brooks included in his column, What I stated then is accurate now. But with one tweak that I will discuss below.
Just because Kakko struggled this year doesn't mean that his future stature has dimmed by any stretch of the imagination. This season was a learning process. Learning the North American game, how to prepare for games, adjusting to his teammates and system, and most important, what does and does not work on the ice, The hope has to be what we saw at the end of the season and the lessons imparted the hard way - by failure - are ingrained into his brain and muscle memory when/if the year resumes and next season.To me, the one really concerning aspect of Kakko's game was his indecisiveness. Instead of making a move, he would hold the puck. Rather than releasing the shot, Kakko would hold the puck an extra beat or two, allowing the defense to close on him. All of these are areas that can be remediated fairly quickly. The speed of the game surprises many, even those that grew up in the US or Canada. But Kakko has the skill set to adjust and adapt.
His willingness and desire to be great are why I think he will take a major step forward. I had hoped he would be like Andrei Svechnikov and explode after the All-Star break, but that didn't happen. Maybe the time away, presuming action starts up again this year, enabled Kakko to learn from the error of his ways and see what works on the ice. If there is one player where a quantum leap forward could be anticipated, Kakko would be my choice.
After the pandemic imposed break, Kakko looked like a different player. in the bubble. Much bigger physically, Kakko looked much different on the ice, especially in the first game versus Carolina, when he posted five shots on net. Acclimated to North American play and heading into his second year, Kakko should have shaken off the nervousness and uncertainty that plagued his performance last season.
One unknown though, which will impact his output, is line placement. Does Kakko slide up to the second line, opposite Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome? How does David Quinn deploy Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Alexis Lafremiere? Is Kreider shifted from the left to right side to creare room for Lafreniere in the top-six? Does Quinn keep the big three left left wingers all on the left side, meaning that Kakko should slide up to the second line? If not, will Kakko skate on the third line, center by Filip Chytil? The answer to these questions will have a material impact on what Kakko does. But a hot start could force the issue regardless of where he starts the season.
I expect growth from Kakko this year. Maybe not at the pace or to the level that many will hope for as a sophomore. The big step forward comes in 2021-22, but Kakko shows snippets of why he was selected second overall and the future should bring.
My question to you is if we see those signs of growth, is that enough or only a quantum leap forward is sufficient?
In terms of the remaining open questions, I think 21 and 23 kind have been answered but what already transpired this offseason and does not need to be covered explicitly. I will cover question 12 and have already partially done the same for 16, but will expound on my thoughts for that topic. Number 20 is one that I will tackle, though is more that will play out during the season while 25 is to be embedded in my season preview blogs.
Also, congrats to Brett Berard and Hunter skinner for being named to Team USA's WJC team:
Introducing the 2021 U.S. National Junior Team! 🇺🇸#USAWJC | #WorldJuniors
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 12, 2020
Release: https://t.co/8gcJU0kyXj pic.twitter.com/tdXVe3j2MW