There’s a long list of things that need to get done this offseason for the Edmonton Oilers, and some decisions will require weighing the options, but re-signing Kasperi Kapanen should be an easy one to make, and extending him should be at the top of the priority list.

The 2025–26 regular season was a rather tough one for Kapanen, as it was filled with injuries that limited him to playing exactly half the season, 41 games, in which he produced 17 points (eight goals, nine assists). He also mentioned back in January, while out of the lineup, that “I feel like I’ve got to some pretty dark places.”

Yet, the 29-year-old battled through the adversity of an injury-filled season, and eventually, the light at the end of the tunnel began to shine.

Because when the playoffs started, he rejoined Leon Draisaitl, who had missed the last 14 games of the regular season, along with Vasily Podkolzin on the second line, and Kapanen was dialled in from the opening puck drop in Game 1 versus the Anaheim Ducks and for the rest of the series.

Kapanen was one of the Oilers’ best players in the playoffs

The Kuopio, Finland native came out flying in Game 1, getting on the scoresheet in the first period by batting down his own rebound and finishing in tight. He then scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes left on a night where he led the team with seven shots.

Overall, Kapanen kept his foot on the gas pedal throughout the series and was one of the Oilers’ best players each night against the Ducks, and even rode shotgun when Draisaitl and Connor McDavid were loaded up on the top line, finishing third on the team with six points, while his four goals led the club in the........

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