The New York Rangers announced that forward Kaapo Kakko is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury. Kakko was put on the injured reserve on Sunday and Morgan Barron was called up from AHL Hartford.
UPDATE: The following players will not practice today:
Ryan Strome (COVID-19 protocol related absence)
Kaapo Kakko (upper body, IR)The team has recalled Morgan Barron from @WolfPackAHL.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 17, 2021
Kaapo Kakko Injured for Rangers
There’s no exact moment how Kakko got hurt in Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. However, the Finn did have a couple of collisions with Alexander Romanov toward the end of the first period.
So far this season, Kakko has no points or penalty minutes in three games. His possession numbers are 51.1 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of -3.3.
Over his three-year NHL career, Kakko has only played for the New York Rangers. He has 19 goals and 21 assists for 40 career points in 117 career games. The Rangers selected him with the second overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Kakko has represented his home country of Finland won golds at the 2019 IIHF World Junior and World Championships. He scored the gold-medal winner in the 2019 World Juniors.
What This Means for the Future
Injuries have hit the Blueshirts hard this season as Ryan Strome is out due to COVID-19 protocols. Both players will not be available to head coach Gerard Gallant for Monday’s game at the Toronto Maple Leafs. Sammy Blais returns to the lineup for Monday’s game after a minor injury.
The Rangers are juggling their lineup as Filip Chytil centered the second line with Artemi Panarin. Greg McKegg and Barron have been called, but Vitali Kravtsov would have been an option. However, the former first-rounder is back home in Russia. He left the team after not reporting to Hartford after being unhappy with his spot in the organization. The Rangers could use him, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be part of their plans.
It’s been a rough start to the season for the Blueshirts and it won’t get easier if Auston Matthews returns to the lineup for the Leafs.
