Rangers re-sign Kaapo Kakko to a one-year contract

A secondary scorer on Broadway has been re-upped for another season.

On Thursday, the New York Rangers announced they have re-signed forward Kaapo Kakko to a one-year contract, with an AAV of $2.4 million.

The cap hit is the same price as Kakko’s qualifying off would have been.

Kakko had just finished the final year of his two-year contract with a $2.1 million cap hit.

He had a bit of a down year production-wise, scoring 13 goals and 19 points during the 2023-24 season. However, he missed 21 games over the course of the campaign after suffering a lower-body injury in late November, keeping him out of the lineup for nearly two months. He played in 15 of the Rangers’ 16 games in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, as he was a healthy scratch in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Florida Panthers. The Finnish forward scored a goal and an assist before the Blueshirts were eliminated by the Cats in six games.

Kakko came into this season after a career year, scoring 18 goals and 40 points during the 2022-23 campaign, the closest he has ever come to averaging a half-point per game.

In 300 career NHL appearances, the 23-year-old has scored 57 goals and 60 assists, registering nine points in 44 playoff games. Even though he has yet to reach the potential that many expected from the Turku native when he was selected second overall by the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Draft, Kakko has shown glimpses of his ability to be a difference-maker. However, many wonder if time is running out before the Rangers move on.

With the signing, the Rangers have 39 standard player contracts signed for next season. According to CapFriendly, the team will have a little over $9.2 million in cap space for the 2024-25 campaign.