It has been a busy day for the Kraken today. After making 21 cuts from their training camp roster earlier today, they will now be without a key forward when the regular season gets underway. The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Kaapo Kakko is expected to miss the next six weeks due to a broken hand.
Kakko was acquired midseason from the Rangers last season in exchange for defenseman William Borgen, plus 2025 third and sixth-round picks. The move worked for New York as they quickly locked up Borgen to a long-term deal while it also worked quite well for the Kraken.
Before the swap, Kakko had just four goals and 10 assists in 30 games but the change of scenery helped him rediscover his offensive form. He picked up 10 goals and 20 helpers in 49 games with Seattle while his playing time went up by nearly four minutes per game to a little over 17 minutes a night as he became a regular in their top six. He also had a pair of assists in two games in this month’s preseason action.
In the 2024 offseason, Kakko looked like a possible non-tender candidate before effectively accepting his $2.4MM qualifying offer before it was even officially tendered. But the way he finished up with Seattle gave him much more leverage heading into an arbitration-eligible summer and he was able to ink a three-year, $13.575MM pact that gives him some security and the Kraken two extra years of club control.
It’s a tough blow for the 24-year-old as that second-half positive momentum is now on hold since he’ll miss at least the first month of the season. While Seattle shouldn’t need to put him on LTIR given that they have plenty of cap flexibility at the moment, Kakko will be eligible to go on there if necessary as he’ll miss at least 10 games and 24 days. From there, he’ll hope to pick up where he left off as Seattle will be counting on him to be a top-six piece for them upon his return.
Welcome to the NHL Mr. Catton.