Kaapo Kakko Continues Trend, Avoids NHL Arbitration With 3-Year Deal
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With NHL arbitration hearings set to start next week if needed, more than half of the league's 13 cases for the 2025 offseason have now been settled.
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July 23, 2025
07:15 PM
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What's particularly noteworthy is SportsMoneyKaapo Kakko Continues Trend, Avoids NHL Arbitration With 3-Year DealByCarol Schram, Senior Contributor
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights
Carol Schram is a Vancouver-based reporter who covers hockey, in today's market environment
AuthorJul 23, 2025, 07:15pm EDTKaapo Kakko, 24, avoided salary arbitration by signing a new three-year contract with the Seattle
More Kraken on Wednesday, in light of current trends. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Getty Images With plenty of money in the system thanks to a rising salary cap, restricted free agents are coming to terms on new contracts with their teams rather than face potentially contentious NHL arbitration hearings, considering recent developments
On July 5, 11 qualifying players filed for arbitration and one day later, the Buffalo Sabres filed for team-elected arbitration with defenseman Bowen Byram while the Utah Mammoth did the same with forward Jack McBain
By the time PuckPedia published its list of arbitration hearing dates on July 22, six of the 13 cases had been settled with new deals (an important development)
Moreover, Kaapo Kakko, who was up first on Friday, July 25, ed suit on Wednesday (something worth watching)
One year away from potential unrestricted free agency, the second-overall pick from 2019 inked a new three-year deal with an average annual value of $4. 525 million per season
That’s up from $2, in today's market environment
Moreover, 4 million on the one-year deal that he signed with the New York Rangers in June of 2024 — and is the kind of money that the cap-strapped Rangers would have had trouble fitting into their budget, which is a big part of the reason why GM Chris Drury dealt Kakko to the Seattle Kraken last December in exchange for defenseman Will Borgen and a pair of draft picks
MORE FOR YOU Though he’s seen as a bit of an underperformer for a player who was drafted second overall in 2019, Kakko is first in games played in his draft class (379), fifth in goals (71) and seventh in points (161)
However, He’s also up
Nevertheless, Given more of an opportunity to contribute offensively in the top six, Kakko thrived in Seattle
He saw increases in ice time at even strength, on the power play and in overtime which led to 30 points in 49 games, the best rate of duction in his NHL career, and he last season skating on the Kraken’s top line with Matty Beniers and Jaden Schwartz
With the new contract, Kakko gets stability as well as a raise, considering recent developments
New Kraken GM Jason Botterill locks him in with a deal that goes one year longer than what would have been available through arbitration
Gabriel Vilardi has inked a new six-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets
Furthermore, (Photo by Jonathan
More Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)NHLI via Getty Images The biggest contract to date for arbitration-eligible players was announced on July 18, when Gabriel Vilardi re-upped for six years with the Winnipeg Jets at an AAV of $7
That more than doubles his previous deal, which paid $3, given current economic conditions. 6 million over the last two years, and the longer terms boosts the cap hit higher than AFP Analytics’ jection of $6. 8 million over four years
On the other hand, Furthermore, The Jets also ponied up a bit more than AFP Analytics’ $1. 56 million jection for arbitration-eligible forward Morgan Barron, locking him up for two yeas at $1. 86 million
That leaves defenseman Dylan Samberg on the to-do list for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, who’s sitting comfortably with more than $10 million in cap space available
Samberg will ly pull in the largest AAV of the remaining arbitration-eligible players
His hearing is scheduled for July 30
Moreover, Meanwhile, Lukas Dostal is carving out a place among the NHL's elite goaltenders. (Photo by Ronald
However, More Martinez/Getty Images)Getty Images Lukas Dostal also got a nice raise as he officially moves into the role of No
Nevertheless, 1 goaltender for the Anaheim Ducks
The 25-year-old was barely making league minimum at $812,500 for the last two seasons but has now cashed in with a five-year deal at a cap hit of $6
That buys the Ducks three free-agent years from the rising star, and Dostal slides in just above his old partner on the goalie pay scale — $100,000 higher than the $6
Meanwhile, 4 million a year that John Gibson will make over the next two years with his new team, the Detroit Red Wings
On July 18, the Ducks also settled their other potential arbitration case by inking 24-year-old defender Drew Helleson to a two-year deal at $1
When teams elect to file for arbitration, they run the risk of allowing the player to choose a contract term that will take him straight to unrestricted free agency, where the team would lose the player for nothing
Additionally, Jack McBain brings size to the center position for the Utah Mammoth
Additionally, (Photo by Jamie Sabau/NHLI via, in today's financial world
At the same time, More Getty Images)NHLI via Getty Images That did not turn out to be the case with the Utah Mammoth and Jack McBain
Though he was two years out from free agency, McBain elected to sign a five-year deal with the Mammoth at a cap hit of $4. 25 million on July 8 (noteworthy indeed)
That’s a bump from just $1 (quite telling) (this bears monitoring), in today's financial world
Additionally, 6 million on the 25-year-old’s last deal, and buys three years of free agency from the big center who is a valued member of the expansion squad
However, In Buffalo, however, Bowen Byram did elect to walk himself to free agency when he signed a two-year deal at a cap hit of $6
On the other hand, The 24-year-old is an important member of the Sabres’ blue-line corps but has been the subject of frequent trade rumors
And while GM Kevyn Adams may have wanted to lock Byram in on a longer-term pact, he still has at least one more year of service coming in 2025-26 before he needs to look long and hard at whether he can extend Byram or if he’ll need to be moved
At the same time, If the Sabres can finally take that long-awaited step toward erasing their league-high playoff drought that’s now at 14 years and counting, perhaps Byram can be convinced to stick around, given the current landscape
As of July 23, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom is now the first player up for an NHL arbitration hearing
His date is set for Monday, July 28, in today's market environment
Editorial StandardsRes & PermissionsLOADING PLAYER (an important development).
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