It was a moment of lightness after some dark days. The Rangers have lost 11 of their last 14 games and two weeks ago traded captain Jacob Trouba before shipping a disgruntled Kakko to Seattle on Wednesday for defenseman Will Borgen and two 2025 draft picks.

The Rangers traded Kaapo Kakko less than 24 hours after the Finnish wing aired out his grievance with his healthy scratch Dec. 15 to the media. After Kakko’s six seasons with the organization that drafted him second overall in 2019,

The 23-year-old Kakko was traded to Seattle on Wednesday for defenseman Will Borgen, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick. The 28-year-old Borgen had been with Seattle since its inaugural season, but the Kraken felt they had to take advantage of the chance to reel in Kakko for their roster.