There was an intriguing trade on Wednesday between the New York Rangers and Seattle Kraken according to nhl.com. The Rangers have traded right winger Kaapo Kakko to the Kraken for defenseman Will Borgen of Moorhead, Minnesota. In addition to Borgen, the Rangers receive a third and sixth round draft pick in the 2025 National Hockey League Entry Draft.
Kaapo Kakko
The Kraken are the second team Kakko is playing for. He previously played the last six seasons with the Rangers since 2019-20.
In 2024-25, Kakko has four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 30 games. He was a +9 with 14 penalty minutes, two power-play points, one game-winning goal, 45 shots on goal, 32 faceoff wins, eight blocked shots, 23 hits, five takeaways, and 16 giveaways.
Kakko’s two power play points came in two Rangers wins over the Montreal Canadiens. The first was a power-play assist on a goal by defenseman Braden Schneider of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on October 22 in a 7-2 Rangers win. At the time, Kakko put the Rangers up 5-2. Filip Chytil of Kromeriz, Czech Republic had the other assist. The second power-play point was a game-winning power-play goal from William Cuylle of Toronto, Ontario and defenseman Zachary Jones of Richmond, Virginia in a 4-3 Rangers win on November 30 with 24 seconds left in the third period to break a 3-3 deadlock.
In 2023-24, Kaako has 13 goals and six assists for 19 points in 61 games. He was a +6 with 24 penalty minutes, one power-play point, two game-winning goals, 91 shots on goal, 13 faceoff wins, 18 blocked shots, 26 hits, 17 takeaways. and 16 giveaways.
Kakko’s first game-winning goal came on October 21, 2023 in ironically a 4-1 Rangers win over the Seattle Kraken. Jacob Trouba of Rochester, Michigan and defenseman K’Andre Miller of St. Paul, Minnesota had the assists. The goal put the Rangers up 2-1 at 13:02 of the second period. Kakko’s second game-winning goal came on February 20, 2024 in a 3-1 Rangers win over the Dallas Stars. Kakko put the Rangers up 2-0 at 8:23 of the second period from defenseman Erik Gustafsson of Nynashamn, Sweden and Miller. Kakko’s lone power-play point last season was a power-play goal to close out the scoring in a 4-0 Rangers win over the St. Louis Blues on March 9, 2024. Kakko scored from Gustafsson and Alexander Wenneberg of Stockholm, Sweden at 11:23 of the third period.
Will Borgen
Borgen is joining his third NHL team. He played two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres in 2018-19, and 2020-21, before the last four seasons with the Kraken.
In 2024-25, Borgen has one goal and one assist for two points in 33 games with Seattle. He is a -13 with nine penalty minutes, 24 shots on goal, 37 blocked shots, 48 hits, six takeaways, and 20 giveaways. The goal came in a Kraken win. It came on November 12 in a 5-2 Seattle win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Borgen scored from Oliver Bjorkstrand of Herning, Denmark and Jaden Schwartz of Wilcox, Saskatchewan at 13:34 of the second period. At the time, Seattle went up 4-2.
In 2023-24, Borgen had three goals and 22 assists for 25 points in 82 games with the Kraken. He was a -5 with 65 penalty minutes, 97 shots on goal, 111 blocked shots, 195 hits, 16 takeaways and 19 giveaways.
The Kraken are at 15 wins, 16 regulation losses and two losses in extra time for 32 points. They are four points back of the Colorado Avalanche for a playoff spot. The Rangers are at 15 wins, 15 regulation losses and one loss in extra time for 31 points. They are three points back of the Ottawa Senators for a playoff spot.
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