Seattle Kraken right winger Kaapo Kakko of Turku, Finland is out long term with a broken hand. The injury is a serious blow to a Kraken team trying to generate more offense this season. The Kraken only scored only 247 goals as a team last season. That was only the eighth most goals in the Western Conference and the 16th most goals in the entire National Hockey League.
How did the injury happen?
Kakko was slashed in a meaningless exhibition game on Wednesday. He was slashed by Edmonton Oilers defenseman Beau Akey of Waterloo, Ontario in the first period. Seattle went on to win the game by a score of 4-1. Akey, a 20-year-old defenseman was the Oilers’s second round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. He is not expected to make the Oilers this season. After four seasons with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, expect Akey to be part of the blueline this season of the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League.
How long is Kraken expected to be out for?
Kakko is projected to be out six weeks. Due to the injury happened on Wednesday (two weeks before the regular season starts), Kakko is expected to miss the first month of the regular season.
How did Kakko join the Kraken?
Kakko was traded from the New York Rangers to the Kraken on December 18, 2024 for a third round pick in 2025, a sixth round draft pick in 2025, and defenseman William Borgen of Moorhead, Minnesota. With the third pick (70th overall), the Rangers selected defenseman Sean Barnhill of Scottsdale, Arizona, who played this past season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. With the sixth pick (166th overall), the Rangers selected right winger Samuel Jung of Wodzislaw, Poland, who played this past season with Karpat U20 in Finland.
Kakko’s stats in 2024-25
Kakko shared his time this past season with the Rangers and Kraken in 2024-25. He had 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 79 games. Kakko was a -2 with 38 penalty minutes, eight power-play points, two game-winning goals, 117 shots on goal, 50 faceoff wins, 28 blocked shots, 68 hits, 18 takeaways and 59 giveaways.
This past season, Kakko had one game-winning goal with the Rangers and Kraken. Kakko scored from William Cuylle of Toronto, Ontario and defenseman Zachary Jones of Richmond, Virginia with 24 seconds left on the power-play in a 4-3 Rangers win over the Montreal Canadiens on November 30. Kakko then scored an unassisted goal at 10:29 of the third period in a 4-2 Kraken win over the Utah Hockey Club on March 14.
