2024–25 Edmonton Oilers players grade: Kasperi Kapanen

Kapanen’s career can be broken down into segments. His first extended look in the league came in 2017–18 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. These first three seasons might be his best, logging career highs in icetime, goals, and expected goals and possession rates. A former first-round pick with a strong international track record, Kapanen’s star was rising with a promising young Maple Leafs team.

Then dealt to an aging Pittsburgh Penguins team, Kapanen was slated to step into a bigger role. Unfortunately, after a solid first season setting a career high of 45 points, Kapanen’s role and effectiveness began to diminish, even finding himself out of the lineup altogether. Without scoring more consistently, Kapanen went from an offensive role in the top-six to a more defensive assignment lower in the lineup.

After a midseason trade to the Blues in 2022–23, Kapanen flashed in his 23 games with St. Louis. Netting 14 points in 23 games is impressive, but Kapanen’s career high 17% shooting percentage proved to be unstable. He was inevitably pushed into the bottom-six, and a more defensive role before being deemed replaceable. Once again he found himself out of the lineup, and ultimately on waivers before being claimed by the Oilers.

Kapanen’s weaknesses

Aside from his family history and his draft pedigree, Kapanen has some clear traits that stand out to casual fans or opposing fans. He is noticeably fast and agile. His ambition is evident too, often attacking with bold attempts at full throttle. There is certainly skill and speed, though often it has been more loud than effective.

Oilers fans were privy to a rare sight, as Mattias Ekholm appeared to take some issue with Kapanen during an Oilers goal celebration. In some essence a lot can be extrapolated from this sequence. Clearly for some reason Kapanen’s game can frustrate not only his coaches but also veteran defenders. Kapanen has the tools to be effective, and clearly there are some mental lapses that can or should be avoided.

At times, Kapanen’s reliance on attempts to make bold and skilled plays can backfire. He is not necessarily a strong playmaker, perhaps trying to do too much himself. His speed and intensity has not always been put to the best use, and Kapanen is not immune to some baffling on ice decisions.

Strengths to his game

At the same time, Kapanen’s style of play has seemed to find home in some huge moments, especially in five on five overtimes. Perhaps his solo missions and individual skills can win out in the biggest moments, or his skating can expose tired opponents. This small sample size might not be enough to be deemed predictive, but at the very least it must be acknowledged. Kapanen is clutch.

The big conundrum is not that Kapanen cannot score enough to hold down a full time spot in the top-six, but rather that he cannot seem to embrace what it takes to be a checking forward first and foremost.

Performance review for the season

It is a testament to Coach Kris Knoblauch’s line juggling that Kapanen seemed to find some good moments as an Oiler. Knoblauch managed to use Kapanen in more of an offensive role while keeping his spot in the lineup rotational. His best place in a lineup is on the fourth line, but he is able to pinch up the lineup on a short term basis. Throughout the attrition of a regular season, a playoff, an overtime, Kapanen is a valuable player.

His impact is limited, of course, so there is only so high of a grade that he should be given. That said, Kapanen should not be expected to give more than he did last season, or rather 2024–25 was about as good as Kapanen could be in this lineup. Think of his grade as a C for overall impact and a plus for keeping his end of the bargain in the playoffs.

Letter grade: C+

Expectations for the next season

We should expect more of the same usage for Kapanen this next season, but there could yet be some improvement. Kapanen can find a more permanent role, with the Oilers or otherwise, if he is able to have more situational awareness. Especially in the playoffs Kapanen was dogged on the forecheck, a habit that could earn him more trust among his coaches and teammates.

To be successful, Kapanen will need to embrace playing a more direct style of play. His speed can unlock a lot of forechecking and transitional prowess. His career trend is not necessarily inspiring, but Kapanen still has the tools to make a difference for the Oilers. Ambitions for a regular spot higher in the lineup might be misguided, though his best chance is to find synergy with the right linemates.

Kapanen does play with an edge, but he should not be the toughest player on a line. His individual offence means that he can play with linemates who have limited offensive capabilities. This extends to special teams where Kapanen should be a depth penalty killer and not a power play option.

This sounds a lot like the Oilers should deploy Kapanen with Mattias Janmark as his primary linemate. He should not necessarily be deployed with the Oilers top players, though his speed does help Leon Draisaitl in a pinch. He should not be deployed with talented rookies to-be Matthew Savoie and Isaac Howard.