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The New York Rangers are in their Stanley Cup window and are expected to be buyers throughout the season and one trade pitch has them solidifying their forward group.
The website PuckPedia‘s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades, and one user proposed a deal that would see the Rangers re-acquiring Andrew Copp from the Detroit Red Wings.
Rangers acquire:
Red Wings acquire:
- Kaapo Kakko
- 2025 fifth-round pick
The proposed deal does make sense as the Rangers get the more proven player while Detroit takes a flier on the former second-overall pick and gets a draft pick.
Copp is entering the third year of his five-year $28.13 million deal. The veteran forward played 16 regular season games and 20 playoff games with the Rangers in the 2021-22 season as he was a trade deadline addition by New York. After the Rangers were eliminated in the playoffs, he signed a five-year deal with the Red Wings.
Copp is a gritty forward who could be New York’s third-line center and add some scoring to the bottom of the lineup. Last season with the Red Wings, Copp skated in 79 games recording 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points.
Detroit, meanwhile, gets Kakko who was selected second overall in the 2019 NHL draft. However, he has struggled to be a consistent NHL player and has been rumored to be a trade candidate. But, Kakko is just 23 and a change of scenery could be good for the former second-overall pick who has shown flashes of being an impact NHL player.
Kakko Frustrated With Role With Rangers
Kakko was a healthy scratch at times in the regular season and playoffs with the Rangers last season.
He entered the off-season as an RFA, but he inked a one-year $2.4 million extension with the team. However, after the Rangers were eliminated from the playoffs, Kakko vented his frustration with his role.
“Playoffs was different,” Kakko said. “Of course, everyone wants to play… I was not happy I (was) not in the lineup, but I still wanted to win. I was hoping the win for the team and keep going and then get back to the lineup at some point, but I can say I was not happy and I think all the guys in this room, like everyone wants to play.”
Kakko skated in 61 games last season recording 13 goals and 6 assists for 19 points. In the playoffs with the Rangers, he added 1 goal and 1 assist in 15 games.
Red Wings Hoping to be Playoff Team
Detroit barely missed out on the playoffs last season and entered the 2024-25 NHL season with confidence of making the postseason.
The Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since the 2015-16 season. But, Detroit has had a good offseason building around their young core.
“I think we’re in with that group of teams that has a chance to compete for the playoffs,” Yzerman said. “If we stay healthy, if our goaltending is good and players outplay your expectations, we might get in. Or you might just miss by a point on the last game of the season. That’s the fine line of it all. I look at the roster today and compare it to last year’s group; it’s a little bit different. It might be a little bit better fit as far as roles for players where they sit on the roster today.”
Detroit added the likes of Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Motte, and Cam Talbot and re-signed forward Patrick Kane this off-season.
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