The New York Rangers made the move many expected for a while now. They traded Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for 27-year-old defenseman Will Borgen and two draft picks. The highest draft pick was a 2025 3rd-round pick. It's a bad return when thinking about how impactful Kakko was supposed to be, and it even feels like a bad return for Kakko the NHL player.
This ends a pretty ridiculous debate between Kakko and the 2019 number-one overall pick in the NHL Draft, Jack Hughes. Hughes and Kakko were the clear number one and two in the draft. Some tried to call it a debate because Kakko "played against men." It was obviously Hughes at the top. Picking Hughes was one of the lasting decisions Ray Shero made before he was fired.
Devils fans have been fighting with Rangers fans online since the beginning of the internet, but the 2019 draft was a reason to dunk on each other even more. After the Kakko trade, Devils fans were relentless in their jokes and memes on Twitter.
Rangers Fans gotta stop being mad at Devils Fans lmao
— Gianni (@GianniNJD) December 19, 2024
YOUR fanbase is the one that created a false narrative that Hughes-Kakko were ever in the same stratosphere
YOUR fanbase is the one that would compare the two at any GLIMPSE of statistics being close
This is your fault 😭
https://t.co/aAQtkcAjVg pic.twitter.com/3nQC4IByBR
— Ka-Ching King (@maurojorgfan1) December 19, 2024
The worst nyr fan you know had this as their profile pic for years. As the casket lowers into the ground, we honor the brain rot…That’s a special crew pic.twitter.com/0sO4AxRjpS
— Seamus Casey Crew (@Garrett_NJD30) December 19, 2024
Again, Devils fans were relentless, but honestly, fair in their criticism of Rangers fans. For as many times as Devils fans hear the words "little brother" or "rent free" from a franchise that can't stop talking about the team across the Hudson River, moments like this are pure art.
Of course, there was one moment that came up again and again. It was the Rangers fans watching the NHL Draft at a Madison Square Garden watch party. The place erupted when the Devils took Jack Hughes, making it seem like they didn't want the generational talent.
Now that he has officially been traded for a 3rd and 6th round pick (LMAO) and is no longer a Ranger
— The Bratt Pack (@TheBrattPack63) December 19, 2024
For the last and final time
Here is Madison Square Garden going NUTS for the Devils picking Jack Hughes because they were so stoked for Kakko pic.twitter.com/vyXJHOf93s
And we also love to see some great analysis from Devils fans.
I've never seen a team handle adversity as poorly as Chris Drury's Rangers. Let's review:
— CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil) December 19, 2024
This team made the playoffs 3 years in a row including 2 ECF trips and as of 1 month ago (11/18) they had the 5th best record in the NHL and had not lost 2 games in a row yet in 2024...
The Devils and its fanbase will quickly move past the trade and very rarely think of Kakko again. It's really fun to watch the disaster across the Hudson, and we're looking forward to future trades where they sell starters for parts.