With the Edmonton Oilers’ roster for next season largely set, questions remain about how certain roles will be filled.

Adam Henrique won’t be back next season, and he played the second-most minutes on the penalty kill among forwards (107:40) in 2025-26, leaving a big void on the PK unit. Curtis Lazar, who played 24:54 minutes on the PK last season, isn’t expected to be back either. It’s also expected that Connor McDavid could see his minutes reduced on the unit as well, creating even more opportunity for other Oilers forwards to step into bigger roles.

Jason Gregor noted that D.J. Smith will be running the PK unit, and it begs the question: which Oilers forwards will see an increase in minutes on the unit next season?

Matt Savoie led all forwards last season in shorthanded minutes (132:13 minutes) and will surely play a prominent role on the unit, along with Jason Dickinson and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who are the obvious picks to play a heavy dose of PK minutes up front.

That said, let’s take a look at other Oilers’ forwards who may get an increased role on the PK unit in 2026-27.

Will Kasperi Kapanen earn more penalty-kill time under Mike Babcock?

Oilers forward Kasperi Kapanen played just 40:52 minutes on the penalty kill in 41 regular-season games last season, but I feel the speedy forward is due for a substantial uptick in PK minutes next season.

One of the reasons is that his skill set is made for PK duties — he’s quick, tenacious, and has good instincts. The next reason is that he was once a trusted penalty killer under Mike Babcock and D.J. Smith, who are now his coaches again after their days together with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

In 2018, Babcock recognized that Kapanen’s skills would be useful as a penalty killer, explaining that carving out a niche on the PK would help him to become an NHL regular, saying, “You’re not playing on the PP, so better find a way to make yourself important.”

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