Many Edmonton Oilers fans likely breathed a sigh of relief when it was announced on July 1 that forward Kasperi Kapanen had re-signed with the team on a one-year deal worth $2.6 million.

While his regular-season work with the Oilers has been up and down, Kapanen has consistently elevated his game in the playoffs over the last couple of postseasons, establishing himself as a reliable postseason performer alongside Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin.

And in 2026-27, Kapanen will reunite with his former Maple Leafs coach, Mike Babcock, joining Zach Hyman and Frederik Andersen as former Toronto players now playing under him in Edmonton. After Kapanen posted a career-high 44 points with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19, it’ll be intriguing to see if Babcock can once again bring out the best in the Finnish forward.

Before looking ahead to next season, let’s look back at Kapanen’s previous time playing under Babcock and the success he had with his former coach.

Kapanen posted a career high in points under Babcock

Kapanen made his NHL debut with Babcock behind the bench during the 2015-16 season, but spent the next couple of years bouncing between the NHL and AHL with the Toronto Marlies. In 2017-18, he played 38 games with the Maple Leafs, recording nine points (seven goals, two assists), but it was the following season where he really started to gain traction as a full-time NHL player.

Heading into the 2018-19 season, with William Nylander holding out due to contract issues, Babcock needed someone to fill the vacancy on the Maple Leafs’ top line, and he turned to Kapanen.

Babcock had a productive talk with the Finnish forward coming out of training camp and laid out his expectations for him at the time. In a 2018 article from The Athletic, Babcock said:

“The bottom line for us, for him to be successful, he’s gotta understand what kind of........

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