Kaapo Kakko isn’t shy voicing displeasure with being scratched by Peter Laviolette

To say that the 2024-25 season hasn't gone as planned for the New York Rangers would be an understatement. They got off to a strong start to their season, but had lost nine of their last 12 entering Sunday's game against the St. Louis Blues.

The Rangers had hoped trading Jacob Trouba away would help turn their season around, but they proceeded to win just two of their next five games after that trade. So, head coach Peter Laviolette turned to another strategy to try and provide a spark, ultimately deciding to scratch Kaapo Kakko for their game on Sunday in St. Louis.

Kaako hadn't performed well during the team's 13-game skid, but if we're being honest, not many players in the lineup had been. It felt as if Kaako was far from the team's biggest issue, yet he was the one being punished for the team's struggles. It was a surprise to many to see Kaako get scratched, but nobody was more shocked than Kakko himself, who spoke for the first time about the decision ahead of Tuesday's game against the Nashville Predators.

“I was surprised, yeah. I know you got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out," said Kakko, h/t Mollie Walker of the New York Post. "That’s how I feel, to be honest.”

Kaapo Kakko calls out Peter Laviolette for controversial scratch decision

Kakko not only admitted his shock by the decision, but he went out of his way to hypothesize what went into the decision. Kakko believes it has more to do with his age (23) than his level of play.

It feels as if Kakko is right and wrong with his belief. First of all, it is objectively easier to scratch a 23-year-old who has never recorded more than 40 points in a single season than it is to scratch a veteran with a decade or more of experience.

Kakko has struggled during this recent rough stretch, scoring just one goal and recording three points in his 12 games played, but he also isn't expected to score a whole lot while playing primarily on the bottom six. A guy like Chris Kreider, for example, has one goal and one assist during this rough patch while also being a -4 (Kakko is a -2 in that same stretch of games). When considering responsibilities and ice time, an argument can be made that Kreider has been more of a negative than Kakko, yet he hasn't been healthy scratched.

On the flip side, though, Kakko recording just three points in his last 12 games speaks to his struggles on the ice as well. Had he been playing better, Laviolette wouldn't have considered scratching him even with his age being taken into account.

What makes the Kakko decision even more interesting is scratching him isn't going to be what sparks a turnaround. Sure, he might be a big name considering where he was drafted back in 2019, but scratching Kakko isn't nearly as big of a statement as it would've been to scratch Kreider or Mika Zibanejad for a game.

As for where the Rangers go from here, that's a question only they can really answer. It feels as if the bridge between Kakko and Laviolette is completely burned. The Rangers could fire Laviolette, but would giving the core of players that has been there for a while another head coach really solve the problem?

The Rangers could trade Kakko and rumors suggest that he's available, but what can they realistically get for him considering his production (or lack thereof) and the fact that he's an RFA after the year? It's abundantly clear that he isn't close to the player that the Rangers thought he'd be when he was drafted.

Ultimately, there was already a ton of drama surrounding the Rangers, and this only made things worse. It'll be interesting to see where the Rangers and Kakko go from here.