Rangers, Kaapo Kakko agree to two-year, $4.2M deal

It appears that forward Kaapo Kakko will be staying put through the summer months. 

Per the NHL's website, the New York Rangers and Kakko have come to an agreement on a two-year contract. While financial terms were not officially disclosed on Thursday, the Associated Press (h/t ESPN) reports the deal is worth $4.2 million and carries an annual salary cap hit of $2.1 million.

Kakko was a restricted free agent after he recorded seven goals and 11 assists across 43 regular-season games for the Rangers in 2021-22. The 21-year-old also contributed two goals and three assists in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. 

According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, Kakko will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights when his deal expires after the 2023-24 season. Walker added the Rangers wouldn't have been able to match an offer sheet had Kakko received one this time around. 

Kakko originally entered the NHL when the Rangers made him the second-overall pick in the 2019 draft. He's thus far skated in 157 career regular-season games and recorded 26 goals and 32 assists over those contests. He missed a total of 31 games in 2021-22 because of a hand/wrist injury and was later scratched for the playoff elimination loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals.