Kaapo Kakko sur les traces de Jesperi Kotkaniemi?

Kaapo Kakko will become a restricted free agent on July 13. If Kakko does not have the expected start to his career in the NHL, he still has the big end of the stick for the upcoming negotiations between him and the Rangers.

Rangers don’t have a lot of spare cash and several teams might be interested in making him a hostile offer.

NY Post’s Larry Brooks drew an interesting parallel between him and Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Puzzling Kaapo Kakko scratch clouds his Rangers future https://t.co/S3rNQOH9hk pic.twitter.com/gWdZVz1dpN

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 12, 2022

Both are Finns who were picked high in the draft but haven’t been able to deliver the goods so far. KK and Kakko were left out in the final game of their team’s playoff run.

The opening of the free agent market following this elimination course, the two left-handers are FRG. As we know, KK left for Carolina and in return, Montreal received a first-round and third-round pick.

But the Rangers will not be able to afford to escape their protege. New York has a big payroll, but the money is running out and next year the contracts of Alexis Lafrenière and K’Andre Miller will have to be extended. Brooks thinks both will cost around ten million dollars.

We have no idea if leaving Kakko out will have any negative repercussions when negotiations take place, but if he is still available next July 13, a contract between two and 2.5 million dollars per year is possible. But on the New York side, we don’t want other teams to offer him more. Rangers will have no way to match the offer.

A first and third round pick against Kotkaniemi is okay. Bergevin did not escape that one. On the other hand, Chris Drury, the CEO of the Blue Shirts, cannot afford to lose him against such compensation. At worst, he has to trade it.

Other than Kakko, there are the contracts of Julien Gauthier, Samuel Blais and Alexandar Georgiev (all of whom will be eligible for arbitration) up for extension. Andrew Copp, Frank Vatrano, Justin Braun, Tyler Motte and Ryan Strome will all become UNRESTRICTED free agents.

Big summer for Drury in the Big Apple, then.

A lot of

– The Bulldogs are one win away from playing in the Memorial Cup.

Thanks to two goals from Mason McTavish the @BulldogsOHL d’Hamilton are approaching a single victory from a participation in the @CHLMemorialCup

Lead the final series 3-2 #OHL vs Windsor – Match no6 demain

In the west Edmonton leads 3-2 over Seattle game no6 also tomorrow #TSN

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– Belle initiative.

Jocelyn Thibault, General Manager of Hockey Quebec, wants to make his organization a benchmark in federated sport – not just in Quebec, but around the world. ????

The chronicle of @MLeclerc_Hockey
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— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) June 12, 2022

– The Northern Irish champion.