The Seattle Kraken will be missing one of their key players to start the season, as Kaapo Kakko is expected to be sidelined for six weeks with a broken hand.
The news comes on an already busy day for Seattle, who made 21 cuts to their training camp roster on Saturday.
For Kakko, the timing couldn’t be worse. The 24-year-old forward had finally found his groove after coming over from the New York Rangers last season, where he’d been struggling to live up to expectations.
The change of scenery did wonders for his game. After posting just 14 points in 30 games with the Rangers, Kakko exploded for 30 points in 49 games with Seattle. His ice time jumped up too – nearly four minutes more per game, putting him at over 17 minutes a night as a top-six forward.
He was showing promise in preseason too, picking up two assists in his only two games.
The injury puts a frustrating pause on what was shaping up to be a breakthrough season. Kakko just signed a new three-year deal worth $13.575 million this summer – a contract that showed how much faith Seattle has in him.
It’s quite a turnaround from where he was a year ago. Back then, there were whispers he might not even get a qualifying offer from the Rangers. Now he’s locked in as a key piece of Seattle’s future.
While the Kraken have enough cap space to avoid putting him on long-term injured reserve, they’ll definitely feel his absence. He’ll miss at least the first month of the season, including a minimum of 10 games.
The team will be eager to get him back in the lineup, hoping he can pick up right where he left off as an important top-six forward in their attack.
