Oilers sign Atro Leppanen to one-year contract extension

According to PuckPedia, Leppänen’s new contract has an NHL cap hit of $850,000, with a minor-league salary of $360,000. He is currently on a one-year, two-way contract with the Oilers. His entry-level deal carries an NHL cap hit of $975,000 and a salary of $85,000 in the minors.

The 27-year-old has spent the entire 2025-26 campaign with the Oilers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. He has been one of the team’s top offensive weapons from the back end, scoring three goals and 17 assists for 20 points in 28 games. Leppänen has registered four multi-point games, putting together a seven-game point streak earlier in the campaign. Along with leading the team’s defenders in scoring, he also has a plus/minus of -5.

Leppänen came to North America after making a name for himself with Liiga club Vaasan Sport in Finland. Last season, he led the league with 21 goalsand 42 assists for 63 points in 60 games. Along with winning the league’s Golden Helmet as its top scorer, he won the Pekka Rautakallio Award for the Liiga’s best defenseman, and the Lasse Oksanen Award as the best player during the regular season. Across two seasons in Liiga, he posted 33 goals and 91 points in 115 games.

With Leppänen’s new deal, the Oilers now have 11 defensemen signed to NHL contracts for the 2025-26 season.

The Oilers (28-20-8) are tied for first in the Pacific Division with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Condors (24-12-7-0) are third in the AHL’s Pacific Division, five points back of the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s top farm team, for first place.