In the final quarter of 2024, the New York Rangers made two moves that will be talked about for a long time.
In October, the Rangers signed 2020 No. 1 overall draft pick Alexis Lafreniere to a seven-year, $52.15M deal. At the time, he had scored 63 points (32 goals, 31 assists) in his previous 82 games (including 14 playoff games).
In his past 37 games, he has only 18 points.
Then, in December, the Rangers dealt their struggling 2019 No. 2 overall draft pick Kaapo Kakko to the Seattle Kraken for two draft picks and unheralded defenseman Will Borgen.
Kakko began scoring almost immediately, putting up 10 points in his first 13 games in Seattle.