Rangers' Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere haven't been true rivals to Devils' Jack Hughes
Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko reacts after he scored against the Hurricanes in the third period of a game at Madison Square Garden on March 21. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
NEWARK — There was some debate, in the days leading up to the 2019 NHL draft, as to whether Kaapo Kakko might challenge Jack Hughes for the distinction of being the first overall pick that summer. Hughes had long been the consensus No. 1, but Kakko had a monster year, scoring 22 goals in 45 games in the Finnish pro league. He helped Finland win the world U-18, world junior and world championships over a 13-month span leading into the draft.
The Devils won the draft lottery and took Hughes with the first pick. The Rangers also moved up in the lottery, winning the second pick. They took Kakko. And there was excitement at the time at what having the two players on opposite sides of the Hudson River would do to stoke the rivalry between the Devils and Rangers for the next decade.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way, though. Kakko, a third-line right wing, is emerging as a nice young player. But Hughes, the Devils’ first-line center, has become one of the league's hottest young superstars. So far, it isn’t much of a rivalry.
“Maybe not right now,’’ Kakko said Wednesday, a day before the Rangers and Devils played Game 2 of their first-round playoff series at Prudential Center. “He's having a great year. I'm not the same position. He's the first [line center] and I'm third line over here. So there's a little difference, I think.’’
The two players had relatively comparable seasons their first two years in the NHL, but Hughes, 21, took off in his third year, despite being limited by injury to 49 games. He put up 26 goals and 56 points in those 49 games and signed an eight-year, $64 million contract extension. He followed that by scoring 43 goals and a Devils franchise record 99 points in his fourth year in 2022-23.
Kakko’s growth has been more incremental. A broken wrist limited him to 43 games in his third season, in which he produced only seven goals and 18 points, and he was scratched for the final game of the playoffs. He signed a two-year, $4.2 million bridge deal over the summer.
But he did have his best season in 2022-23, playing in all 82 games and finishing with career highs of 18 goals and 40 points. And his line, with center Filip Chytil and left wing Alexis Lafreniere, has been perhaps the Rangers’ most consistent and energetic all season. Their line was the team's most effective in last season's playoffs, in terms of puck possession. And they totaled 23 points in 20 games.
“I feel good about this season,’’ Kakko, 22, said. “I feel like our line, we've been good. And I played all the games. That's a big thing. Last year, I didn't play that much. I missed so many games. So I feel good about that. I think that's one of the reasons why it's been my best season.’’
Lafreniere, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, also could have been considered a rival to Hughes at one point. But, like Kakko, he doesn’t look at it that way.
“No, no, not really,’’ Lafreniere said. “He had a really good year, [and] he's obviously a fun player to watch . . . but no, I don't compare myself to him.’’
Neither Kakko nor Lafreniere knows Hughes particularly well. Though Kakko and Hughes were both in Vancouver doing the pre-draft media availabilities and such, they didn’t really mingle much. Kakko stayed with his family and the other Finnish players who were there; Hughes was with his family and his USA buddies. Lafreniere said there isn’t any kind of fraternity to which No. 1 picks belong.
Now that the three players are involved in a playoff series, the two Rangers players say they don’t feel any need to try and outdo Hughes, to try and prove anything. Hughes scored the Devils’ only goal in Game 1 on a penalty-shot goal. Kakko assisted on Chytil’s empty-netter shortly afterward that closed out the Rangers’ 5-1 win.
“I think it doesn't matter right now,’’ Kakko said. “It doesn’t matter [who scored] if we win a game.’’
“I don't really think about that, honestly,’’ Lafreniere said. “Right now, I just want to win games and try to go as far as we can in the playoffs. For now, It's the only thing that matters for me.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
