Kaapo Kakko signs 1-year extension with New York Rangers

Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterJun 13, 2024, 03:42 PM ET

CloseKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.

The New York Rangers signed forward Kaapo Kakko to a one-year contract extension worth $2.4 million, the club announced Thursday.

Kakko was an impending restricted free agent. The new salary represents what his qualifying offer would have been had the Rangers not locked him into a new deal.

The 23-year-old was selected second overall by New York in the 2019 NHL Draft. Kakko had his best season in 2022-23, producing 18 goals and 40 points in 82 games.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

This past regular season was tough on Kakko as he collected just 19 points in 61 games. He added one goal and an assist in 15 playoff games during the Rangers run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Kakko was a healthy scratch in Game 2 of that series against the Florida Panthers before re-entering the lineup in Game 3. New York ultimately lost the series, 4-2.

This extension gives Kakko a chance at a bounce-back campaign in the coming year and affords the Rangers some cost certainty as free agency opens on July 1.

Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40343950/kaapo-kakko-signs-1-year-extension-new-york-rangers

Author : Kristen Shilton

Publish date : 2024-06-13 20:56:40

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.