Kakko was acquired in a December trade with the New York Rangers for Will Borgen, a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in 2025.

The 24-year-old was drafted second overall by the Rangers in 2019, and has scored 161 points across 379 career games, but was moved amid a shaky start to their 2025 season.

He registered just 14 points in 30 games before settling in nicely with Seattle, racking up 30 points in 49 games.

A native of Turku, Finland, he was not one of the initial six listed to represent Team Finland at the upcoming Olympics but was at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and tallied an assist in two games.