NHL teams, executives, coaches, and players should all be optimistic about the next season as training camp gets underway. One day before training camp opens, on Tuesday, the general manager of the New York Rangers, Chris Drury, spoke with reporters. He fit right in with that storyline.
The Rangers general manager always put a positive spin on whatever subject was thrown at him, whether it was talking about his great friendship with captain Jacob Trouba—whom he attempted to trade this past offseason—or thinking back on the painful lessons he had to learn from losing two of the previous three Eastern Conference Finals.
That includes his opinions of the young forwards Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. Everybody wants to bounce back from a challenging 2023–24 season. And going into training camp, the general manager is optimistic that each will accomplish just that.
Drury looked especially optimistic about Kakko, who is probably going to have a make-or-break season with the Rangers because he just never clicked last season.
“Another guy who looks great in early testing and had a terrific offseason,” Drury remarked. “I think he’s ready for a successful year for us, and he wants to show that last year was an anomaly.”
Two seasons ago, Kakko earned 40 points and 18 goals. It seemed like he was about to burst into being.
It’s no secret that Kakko’s 2023–24 season wasn’t very successful. Kakko missed 21 games in the midst of the season due to a lower-body ailment that kept him out of action until the end of November. He scored 13 goals and provided six assists for a pitiful 19 points in 61 regular-season games.
Drury said bluntly, “He dealt with an injury last year and admittedly he didn’t have the best year.
He’s back and ready.
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