A change of scenery will work wonders for Kaapo Kahkonen
The San Jose Sharks should be major players over the next week, as they will look to collect high draft picks and prospects while potentially selling off up to five players that includes goaltender Kaapo Kahknonen. So far, Kahkonen’s time in San Jose hasn’t been ideal, having collected just 17 wins in one full season and parts of two others, a 0.894 save percentage, and a 3.63 GAA.
But the Sharks were also never a good team since Kahkonen arrived in March 2022. He also looked more than serviceable for San Jose throughout his 11 appearances with the team after the Minnesota Wild sent him to California in 2022, notching a 0.916 save percentage and a 2.86 GAA.
Since then, it’s been downhill for Kahkonen, but he has shown he can be a willing starting goaltender or a 1B. And he would fare much better with a contender or someone on the outside and looking in who needs more talent in their rotation.
The New Jersey Devils are a team you think of here, given their awful situation involving Vitek Vanecek and the current duo of Nico Daws and Alex Schmid. Despite Samuel Ersson putting up solid numbers, the Flyers could also be in the hunt for a goaltender like Kahkonen as a backup should they buy at the deadline.