Kaapo Kakko Is Not Happy About Being Benched And Made That Very Clear

Kaapo Kakko is not happy with his most recent benching.

Peter Laviolette decided to scratch Kakko during the New York Rangers’ 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.

On Tuesday, Kakko voiced his frustration regarding the decision that left him out of the lineup.

“I was surprised, yeah,” Kakko said via Mollie Walker of The New York Post. “I know you got to do something as a coach when you’re losing games, but I think it’s just easy to pick a young guy and boot him out. That’s how I feel, to be honest.”

Kakko went even as far to say that he has not been the team’s biggest problem as the Rangers have lost 10 out of their last 13 games.

“Haven’t been on the ice too much when [opponents] score a goal… I have not been the worst guy, but that was me out of the lineup,” Kakko said.

The 23-year-old has recorded four goals, 10 assists and 14 points in 29 games while averaging 13:23 minutes.

Laviolette caught wind of Kakko’s comments and while he didn’t blame him for being upset, the 60-year-old coach strongly disagreed with the notion that youth had anything to do with his decision.

“I’ll keep those messages between him and I,” Laviolette said via Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today. “But I think it’s okay to be frustrated. It’s okay to be upset.”

“There's been older players that have sat out, as well. The decisions that I make, they're tough decisions. Our team, Kaapo – we need to play better. We're 3-10 in our last 13 games, and that's not good enough.”

There is a level of frustration from Kakko’s end because the young forward feels that he was unfairly pinpointed for the overall struggles of the entire team.

“Yeah, for sure,” Kakko said about if it’s frustrating he’s been singled out a few times through his time with the Rangers. “I can say the same thing all the time, the whole team is playing kind of bad and I get that you got to do something. I don't know. If I were coach, I would do something also. I was surprised it was me at that point.”

Kakko will be back in the lineup on Tuesday night when the Rangers take on the Nashville Predators.