Peter Laviolette Reveals Real Reason Behind Scratching Kaapo Kakko And Fans Aren't Buying It

Laviolette explained that he wanted to get fresh legs into his lineup with the team finishing a back-to-back situation. Many fans do not buy what he's selling as many feel that Kakko is being actively shopped as general manager Chris Drury continues the makeover of his team.

The former second overall pick in 2019 has not found his game with the Rangers since he was drafted. Over the past 29 games, he has scored four goals with 10 assists for 14 points and as a + 10.

During his last five games, he's only recorded one assist and no other points to speak of. It's clear that Laviolette is not impressed with his game as his ice time has been slowly declining and is down to 11 minutes per game.

At $2.4 million for this season, this is not acceptable numbers and it's clear that Drury will need to find a new home for Kakko.

Many fans are also turning to their head coach as a possible reason for the downturn as Laviolette continues to struggle during his postgame comments to finding something new that he could criticize. The message has become the same and the team continues to lose games.

This occurred with the Chicago Blackhawks two weeks ago and general manager Kyle Davidson decided to pull the plug on head coach Luke Richardson's career with the Blackhawks.

No matter the case, the Rangers are in a position that is unimaginable considering how they were last year but with the toxicity forming in the dressing room due to the trades and the way they were made, it appears that trust is an issue with this team and that's very difficult to get back.