Kaapo Kako signed a one-year, $2.4 million contract with the New York Rangers on Thursday.
The 23-year-old forward was in the final season of a two-year contract he signed on July 28, 2022, and could have become a restricted free agent on July 1.
“We’ll see, but I like all the things here,” Kakko said on June 4. “The team is fantastic. Everyone wants to win. I feel like I have a chance to win here… I like being here.”
Kakko scored 19 points (13 goals, six assists) in 61 regular season games and two points (one goal, one assist) in 15 Stanley Cup playoff games. He was scratched for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Florida Panthers, but returned to play in the final four games of the series, which the Rangers lost in six.
“The playoffs were different,” Kakko said. “Of course everyone wants to play… I was not happy not to be in the lineup, but I still wanted to win. I was hoping to win for the team and move on and then get back into the lineup at some point, but I can say no. “I was happy and I think all the guys in this room want to play.”
Kakko was selected by the Rangers with the second pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. He has 117 points (57 goals, 60 assists) in 300 regular season games and nine points (four goals, five assists) in 44 playoff games .
NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen contributed to this report.