Is Kaapo Kakko Set for Breakout Season With Seattle Kraken in 2025-26?
Kaapo Kakko enters the 2025–26 NHL season with the Seattle Kraken at a critical juncture in his career — one that makes him a prime breakout candidate.
After a quiet start with the Rangers, Kakko found new life in Seattle, notching 30 points in 49 games. He showed good chemistry with Seattle’s young cornerstone center, Matty Beniers.
According to reports on Tuesday, Kakko and the Kraken have agreed upon a three-year deal to avoid arbitration.
After the New York Rangers drafted him second overall in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, expectations were understandably sky-high after he had dominated in Finland’s Liiga as a teenager and starred at the 2019 World Championship.
If you ask a Rangers fan what happened, you might get some different answers. For some, it was the mishandling of Kakko by New York’s coaching staff. For others, it was just never a good fit given his skillset and what the Rangers needed. For Kakko, it might have been just needing longer to develop. All of those things can be true at once.
Whatever the reason(s) were, the Kraken benefited from the Rangers feeling like Kakko needed a change of scenery. On Dec. 18, 2024, he was dealt to Seattle for a third and sixth-round draft pick in 2025 and Will Borgen. On a per-game basis, his numbers jumped when he reached Seattle. His 2.2 points-per-60-minutes rate for the Kraken was much higher than anything he saw with New York, which was 1.9.
His 30 points in 49 games is a pace of roughly 50 points overall a full season. His previous career high before last season was 40.
Syncing up the talented Finnish winger with centers like Beniers, Jared McCann, and Shane Wright helped him unlock that potential.
This season will be Kakko’s first full year in the Seattle organization. He will only get more comfortable with the playmakers around him. He should start the year in a meaningful role, not fighting for minutes like he did in New York. His puck protection is elite, and his awareness in the offensive zone is improving.
New Kraken head coach Lane Lambert should prioritize putting the talented Kakko in positions for success. There are a lot of reasons to believe 2025-26 will be Kakko’s best yet.
