Shocking Stats Suggest the Rangers May Have Traded the Wrong Star Young Player
Latest numbers are suggesting that the New York Rangers' general manager Chris Drury may have made a big mistake earlier this season on the trade market.
The Rangers started the 2024-25 season on the wrong foot. Coming off an impressive 2023-24 season where they won the Presidents' Trophy, the Rangers' struggles led them to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, forcing general manager Chris Drury to make some desperate trades.
He started things off by trading the team captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks and Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken. Then, he shipped Filip Chytil and Victor Mancini to the Vancouver Canucks for J.T. Miller, a great acquisition that brought significant offensive reinforcements to the Rangers' top six.
It appears that Drury may have made a mistake with one of these trades.
Indeed, the latest numbers are showing that Kaapo Kakko is having a better season than Alexis Lafrenière.
Both players are spending around 17 minutes on the ice per game on their team's top lines, but Kakko's contributions are slightly greater.
Lafrenière, the Rangers' 1st overall pick in 2020, scored 32 points this season with a -18 rating.
As for Kakko, the 2nd overall pick in 2019 scored 33 points this year but has a +4 rating.
The difference is slim, but it must be considered when we look back at Drury's decision to trade Kakko instead of Lafrenière.
Of course, expectations on both players aren't the same. The Rangers are looking to compete for a Stanley Cup, while the Kraken is a developing team, where players don't have as much pressure to win now.
Also, this could change by the end of the season. If Lafrenière ends the season with one more point than Kakko, will we say that the Rangers made the right call?
The verdict on a trade can take years before unfolding. We should know if Drury made the right call when Kakko or Lafrenière wins the Stanley Cup.
