The Seattle Kraken have taken care of an important piece of off-season business. News emerged that the Kraken have signed Kaapo Kakko to an extension, thus avoiding arbitration. The deal is for three years and $13.575 million in total. This contract carries an average cap hit of $4.525 million per season and runs through the end of the 2027-28 season.
Seattle and Kaapo Kakko avoid arbitration
3 x $4.525M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 22, 2025
Kaapo Kakko Signed to Extension by Seattle Kraken
Kakko has played for the New York Rangers over his six-year NHL career. The 24-year-old recorded 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points in 79 games last season. He had a Corsi for of 54.6 and a relative Corsi of 8.5.
The Turku, Finland native has 71 goals and 161 assists for 66 points in 379 career games. New York originally drafted him in the first round, second overall of the 2019 NHL Draft.
He has played for his native Finland at the international level. Kakko was part of the gold-medal winning squads at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships and the 2019 IIHF World Championships.
The veteran forward was shipped to the Pacific Northwest prior to the 2025 trade deadline. He’s had struggles in the Big Apple, but has seemingly found his game in Seattle.
What It Means
Kakko was set to go to arbitration in the summer. However, new Seattle general manager Jason Botterill has decided to reward the young Finn with a new deal. This is good for both sides, that they avoid the sometimes contentious arbitration route.
Kakko has been solid at the defensive end for a good chunk of his career. However, the scoring has been inconsistent for the most part. He did register a career-high 18 goals in the 2022-23 season with the Rangers.
The Finn has been through a number of head coaches over his short career, but there’s hope he can find a place in the lineup with Lane Lambert now running the show behind the bench. The Kraken are hoping Kakko can starting realizing his potential that the former second overall pick had.
Main photo by: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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