Kapanen Overtime Hero: How Oilers Outmaneuvered the Blues

Kasperi Kapanen was the overtime hero for the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night as he scored a goal in the first OT frame to send the Vegas Golden Knights packing and his team to the Western Conference Final. It was only Kapanen’s second game of the 2025 playoffs, but he made his limited appearances count. In fact, one could argue the Oilers outmaneuvered the St. Louis Blues, who were pegged as savvy for plucking two players — Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg — away from Edmonton via offer sheets last summer.

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What’s the connection?

The Oilers picked up Kasperi Kapanen off waivers from the Blues in November of 2024. He was an afterthought in St. Louis, where the Blues had just successfully used offer sheets to grab Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg from the Oilers.

While he’d played 73 games in 2023-24, Kapanen had played only 10 games for the Blues before landing with the Oilers this season. He wasn’t always a regular in the Oilers lineup, but in 57 games, he potted five goals and 13 points.

Long-term, the move to acquire Holloway and Broberg will likely pay off in spades. Holloway will inevitably command a considerable pay raise after a 63-point season. He’s got tremendous upside, and losing him was painful for the Oilers. That said, his injury-plagued career has to remain a concern. He missed several games at the end of the season and wasn’t available for St. Louis in their first-round series with the Winnipeg Jets.

Meanwhile, Broberg is becoming and will be a solid defenseman. The Blues overpaid to get him, and they are paying well for his production. Still, by the time his contract expires, he’ll have become a value deal for the Blues organization.

The Oilers? It looked like they got only a couple of draft picks—one second-round and one third-round pick in the 2025 draft. However, the freed-up cap space allowed for other moves, like adding Jake Walman via trade at the deadline and signing John Klingberg as a free agent during the season. Oh, and they’ve got Kapanen at $1 million. They’re still in the playoffs, and Kapanen is producing.

Kapanen Doing The Most With Little Time

He was told to stay ready, and he was. In Game 4, he was shot out of a cannon, hitting everything that moved. In Game 5, he scored one of the biggest goals of his NHL career.

Kapanen may be a one-and-done with the Oilers. As a pending UFA, there’s a chance he moves on next season, assuming he doesn’t sign for league minimum or the Oilers prioritize players. But, while he’s here, he’ll make the most of his opportunities. All the while, Edmonton will take advantage of his speed, tenacity, and willingness to do what it takes to contribute, regardless of the role.

The Blues looked like the early winners, taking advantage of a cap-strapped Oilers. Today, the Oilers look like the smart ones, grabbing Kapanen as a discarded piece from the Blues, paying him very little and getting massive returns in games that really matter.

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