The Edmonton Oilers may still be feeling the sting of their second consecutive loss in the Stanley Cup Final to the Florida Panthers, and general manager Stan Bowman will have to make many difficult decisions in the weeks ahead about who will and won’t be back with the team next season.
One player they’ve decided to retain for next season is forward Kasperi Kapanen, who scored a handful of huge goals for the Oilers during their run to the Cup Final. Stan Bowman announced today that the Oilers have re-signed Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year contract for the 2025-26 NHL Season.
The Edmonton Oilers Have Re-Signed Kasperi Kapanen To A One-Year Contract After A Strong Postseason Performance
The Oilers have announced a one-year contract extension for Kapanen with a $1.3 million cap hit, keeping him around through at least the 2025-26 NHL season.
The Oilers have signed forward Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year deal worth $1.3M AAV. pic.twitter.com/0MAEe1U3pv
— PuckEmpire (@puckempire) June 30, 2025
Kapanen, who began the 2024-25 season with the St. Louis Blues, was placed on waivers in November 2024 and subsequently claimed by the Oilers.
He found himself regularly deployed by the Oilers in a bottom-six role, scoring five goals with eight assists in the 57 games he played after joining the club.
He played a massive part in the playoffs, helping the Oilers return to the Final by scoring the overtime-winning goal over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-Final.
While initially not included on the Oilers’ postseason roster for their opening-round series victory against the Los Angeles Kings, Kapanen was soon added to the lineup in the latter half of their series against Vegas and ultimately delivered the knockout blow to send the Oilers back to the Western Conference Final.
“There are so many good players on this team that I understood when [Knoblauch] told me I wasn’t going to start playing against (the Los Angeles Kings in the first round),” Kapanen said after scoring the series-winning goal against Vegas. “The team was playing really well, so we weren’t changing our lineup, which was understandable and that’s the main goal. That’s the most important thing, is the team winning and now we’re advancing.”
Kapanen was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014 but was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2015 as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Phil Kessel to the Penguins.
After playing the first several years of his NHL career with the Maple Leafs, he was traded back to the Penguins in 2020.
In 527 NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Penguins, Blues, and Oilers, Kapanen has scored 90 goals with 132 assists, while adding eight goals and 11 assists in 50 postseason games.
