The Utah Hockey Club needs help to stay in the playoffs as the season progresses. Their current record is 10-11-4, six points behind the Edmonton Oilers, who hold the last wild card spot in the standings.
Related: Slumping Rangers Must Face Some Hard Truths
They lost two top-four defensemen to injuries, with Sean Durzi and John Marino sidelined long-term. Then, rookie Maveric Lamoureux recently went down with an upper-body injury, keeping him out of commission for 4-6 weeks. General manager Bill Armstrong stopped the bleeding by trading for Olli Määttä. He has been adequate, but more than likely, he is not a long-term solution on the blue line.
Trading for Miller May Be the Solution
The New York Rangers are experiencing all kinds of difficulties this season. Their disappointing 14-10-1 record is good enough for a wild-card team, but more was expected from their loaded roster. There have been rumors that their head coach, Peter Laviolette’s job, could be in the hanging. As reported here by Jim Parsons, Laviolette’s job seems safe for now.
Peter Baugh of The Athletic also reported a list of potential trade candidates on the Rangers roster (from ‘Rangers trade tiers: Who’s untouchable, and who could be part of a shake-up’ – The Athletic, 12/4/2024). Utah should focus its interest on two young players: K’Andre Miller and Kaapo Kakko. Both could help the struggling team improve. Miller is probably the more urgent need, but Kakko’s name has been in the rumor mill for a long time.
After this season, Miller will become a restricted free agent (RFA). Although he is just 24 years old, he is a significant presence on defense. He stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 215 pounds—quite intimidating. In 318 games with the Rangers, he has scored 30 goals and assisted 79 times.
Miller’s physical play should attract Utah. He has accumulated 602 hits and 431 blocks. If Utah were to acquire him, he would become the biggest defenseman on their roster. Miller will turn 25 next month and fits Utah’s rebuilding plan.
What Kakko Brings to the Table
Like Miller, Kakko is young and will be 24 in February. The second overall selection in the 2019 NHL Draft has yet to perform up to expectations. Until that happens, it may be time for him to get a change of scenery. In his sixth season in New York, he has 61 goals and 69 assists in 324 games. He could be pressing, considering he’s playing in a large market where players are examined closely.
Adding Kakko to the Utah lineup could allow him to play without distractions. After this season, he becomes an RFA, currently playing with a $2.4 million cap hit. Will the Rangers’ top brass continue to hold out that he will develop and offer him more time to do so?
At this point, the Rangers are assessing their options, and whether that includes trading Kakko is still undetermined. Kakko would be a good addition in Utah, but the return may not be acceptable to the Rangers. They are searching for answers to their slow start this season.
What Kind of Return Would the Rangers Expect?
The Utah club has many young players and draft picks to make a potential deal. After the trade of Jacob Trouba, the Rangers will want to replace him on defense. The Utah club has a couple of young defensemen who could fill the void without costing them too much.
Juuso Välimäki is just 26 but is having an off-season with just one assist in 19 games. He carries a $2 million cap hit through 2025-26. Another possibility could be Maksymilian Szuber, aged 22, playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Tucson Roadrunners. He fills the bill if the Rangers want to go younger on their roster.
It’s doubtful that the Utah team would want to give up Lamoureux or Michael Kesselring. As far as Kaako goes, a good replacement might be Michael Carcone, who will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) after this season and has only a $775,000 cap hit. He can score, but is having a poor season thus far.
Salary Cap Issues
With the Trouba trade completed, the Rangers signed their star goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, to an eight-year pact worth $92 million. They still have almost $7 million in cap space to allow further deals if necessary. Utah has $8.33 million in space available, and it seems both clubs can improve with potential trades.
The Rangers are not done shuffling their roster around, and Utah needs to improve if they want to play in the postseason. Sounds like they can help each other at this point.
