The writing on the wall seemed apparent for New York Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko, and his tenure with the team has now come to a close.

On Wednesday evening, he was traded to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for Will Borgen, a 2025 Third-Round pick and a 2025 Sixth-Round pick.

Kakko, the former 2nd overall pick of the Rangers in the 2019 NHL Draft, was recently designated a healthy scratch by Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, a move he openly expressed his dissatisfaction with.

This is now the second move that the struggling Rangers have made in as many weeks; they've already traded now-former captain Jacob Trouba to the Anaheim Ducks, and more moves could be on the way.

Now-former Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko openly spoke out after being benched

New York Rangers right wing Kaapo Kakko (24) regroups in the Florida Panthers zone during the first period in game six of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena.
Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The former second overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Rangers, Kakko didn't take kindly to being benched by Laviolette, and made no secret about it – even throwing some of his now-former teammates under the bus in the process, via The Hockey News.

“I was surprised, yeah,” he said. “I know you got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out. That’s how I feel, to be honest.”

“Haven’t been on the ice too much when [opponents] score a goal. I have not been the worst guy, but that was me out of the lineup,” he said.

It wasn't long before Laviolette immediately pushed back.

“There's been older players that have sat out, as well,” he said. “The decisions that I make, they're tough decisions. Our team, Kaapo – we need to play better. We're 3-10 in our last 13 games, and that's not good enough.”

Kakko ends his Rangers career having played in 330 games, scoring 61 goals with 70 assists.