Oilers re-sign Kasperi Kapanen to one-year contract
The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed winger Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year contract, the club announced Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Oilers, Kapanen’s new contract carries a $2.6 million cap hit for the 2026-27 season, representing a full 100 percent increase from his previous $1.3 million salary.
Kapanen, 29, appeared in 41 games with the Oilers during the 2025-26 season, collecting eight goals and 17 points. The 6’1″ right wing added four goals and six points in six playoff games with the club.
KAPPY HOUR EXTENDED ⏰ The #Oilers have re-signed forward Kasperi Kapanen to a one-year contract with an AAV of $2.6 million.
Kapanen first arrived in Edmonton midway through the 2024-25 season after being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues. He recorded five goals and 13 points in 57 games with the club to finish the season, adding three goals and six points in 12 games during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
A first-round pick (No. 22 overall) of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2014 NHL Draft, Kapanen has enjoyed a long NHL career in which he has played a variety of roles with four different teams. Just one year drafting him, the Penguins traded Kapanen to the Toronto Maple Leafs as one of the main pieces in the blockbuster Phil Kessel trade; Kapanen played parts of five seasons in Toronto to begin his NHL career before being sent back to Pittsburgh in 2020.
Kapanen had one of his strongest seasons to date with the Penguins in 2020-21, scoring 11 goals and 30 points in just 40 games, but he failed to match that level of production over the following two seasons. Late in the 2022-23 campaign, the Penguins placed Kapanen on waivers, where he was claimed by St. Louis, but after a brief initial resurgence with the Blues, Kapanen fell back into a depth role over the following two seasons and was waived once again early in 2024-25, leading to the Oilers putting in a claim.
In 568 career NHL games over parts of 11 seasons with the Maple Leafs, Penguins, Blues, and Oilers, Kapanen has collected 98 goals and 239 points. The Kuopio, Finland product has added 12 goals and 25 points in 56 career playoff contests.