'Help us with some energy': Oilers head coach welcomes return of rugged forward Kasperi Kapanen

Kasperi Kapanen skated on right-wing with Leon Draisaitl at Sunday’s Edmonton Oilers’ practice, which likely signals a return after being out for two and a half frustrating months with a knee issue, with two separate rehabs.

Unless there’s a physical setback between now and Tuesday night when the Nashville Predators are here, Kapanen will probably play his first game since Oct. 19 in a loss in Detroit after missing 36 games. He was ready to come back in late November but reinjured the knee at the end of a practice—not on a line rush, or a battle drill, or blocking a shot, but when the leg appeared to catch a rut in the ice.

He left the ice in anger, smashing his stick at the bench, sending several other sticks flying, before limping down the alleyway to the dressing room.

“This feels like I’ve been out three years,” said Kapanen, who was on the road to recovery until he reinjured it on Nov. 27 and had to start all over again.

“The last play of practice, my leg got caught in the ice again and I twisted it. It was a nothing play. Obviously, I saw the video afterwards and I felt bad for my reaction. Maybe a bit of a drama queen there after seeing the video. I regret doing it, but the frustration and disappointment came out,” he said.

“Going back to square one was hard.”

The original injury, where he only played five minutes in the Oilers’ Game 6 of the season, looked not that worrisome, either.

“I skated off the ice and felt something wasn’t quite right, but I didn’t think it was that bad. It’s usually the next day (where the real discomfort comes), I woke up, and I knew,” he said.

“Mentally, the hardest part is not being on the ice with the team and not going on the road as you’re used to but if there’s ever a time to be hurt it’s now because my wife is pregnant and I’m trying to help.

“Kind of a blessing in disguise.”

Kapanen scored one of the biggest goals of the Oilers playoff run to the Cup final last spring, finding a loose puck in a mosh-pit of players in OT in Game 5 of the second series against Vegas to put the Golden Knights out.

“I had never been past the first round of the playoffs before,” said Kapanen, admitting to how excited he was.

The Oilers have missed Kapanen’s speed, his hitting and his penalty-killing. And, if he plays Tuesday, they won’t be breaking him in slowly, like on a fourth line. Off Sunday’s practice, Jack Roslovic, Draisaitl’s oft-used RW, was skating on the third line with Adam Henrique and farm call-up Ike Howard on left-wing.

“It’s been a long process for him (Kapanen). He’s off for four or five weeks, and that’s enough, then he’s ready to get back to playing and he gets hurt again and he has to do it (rehabbing) all over again. He’s grumpy, can’t skate, but he’s worked so hard,” said Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch, who wouldn’t fully commit to his return Tuesday, but it looks like it, and we’ll see after another practice Monday.

“We know he can help us with some energy, a bit of offence, his physicality and eventually some penalty-killing,” he said.

Will Mangiapane stay, or will he go?

Andrew Mangiapane, scratched for the second time in the last three games as he awaits a trade, was on a line with Curtis Lazar and Matt Savoie at practice. So, he might play against Nashville, but he’s in a state of limbo.

In a perfect world, the Oilers would like to divest themselves of his entire $3.6 million AAV to open up much-needed cap and roster space, without taking any warm body back, but we’ll see.

Mangiapane, unhappy with his ice-time, has a no-trade so would have to waive it for a deal, and he would like to play on a similar contender. But there are lots of mismatched balls in the air.

Yes, Anaheim, in third place in the Pacific but losers of nine of their last 11 games, is kicking tires on Mangiapane because they have $23 million in cap space. They can absorb the money but they may also be trying to move one of two veteran forwards—Ryan Strome or Frank Vatrano—who are both struggling and not part of their core any longer.

The ex-Oiler Strome, who has six points in 21 games after starting the season with an upper-body injury, could possibly help Oilers as a third-line cnetre but Strome makes $5 million for this year and next. Unless the Ducks want to eat $2 million of that, that seems a non-starter trade. And the fast Vatrano, who had 37 goals two years ago and 45 points last season but just six points in 38 games now is $4.75 million AAA for two years. He’s on IR at the present time.

Leafs’ GM Brad Treliving knows Mangiapane from their Calgary days, so there’s a connection, but Treliving probably wants to move his underachieving, similar-sized forward Mattias Macelli. While the Oilers are dying for secondary offence, Macelli isn’t a huge upgrade. He has 15 points, Mangiapane has 11. His cap hit is $3 million and only for this season.

And, the Jets are the other team in the picture. They’re dying for offence after the Mark Scheifle-Kyle Conner-Gabe Villardi line, but would Mangiapane want to waive his no-trade to a team in last place, on a nine-game losing streak?

Walman slowly on the mend

Defenceman Jake Walman missed his 19th straight game Saturday after breaking a bone in his foot when hit by a shot in the Tampa Bay game on Nov. 20. But Knoblauch said he’s getting closer, likely to a return with partner Darnell Nurse.

“We anticipate he’ll be on the ice with the group Monday. If not then, Tuesday for the game-day skate,” said Knoblauch.

Walman missed the first six games when hurt, too.

And, what of new starter Tristan Jarry, who injured his leg (possible groin issue) Dec. 18? He’s missed seven games.

“Last Thursday, he was taking shots at the morning skate with the scratches. He’s played through a lot of injuries and we want to make sure this one is healed and it’s not a recurring thing. Maybe in a week he’ll practise with us and full-time in two weeks,”  said Knoblauch.

It’s expected Connor Ingram will get the Nashville game, and Calvin Pickard on Thursday in Winnipeg after stealing a game against the Jets there Dec. 29.

This ‘n that

• Sobering stat: Connor McDavid has been all-world during his 15-game point streak with 14 goals and 36 points, but the Oilers are only 9-6 in that span, 5-5 in the last 10. He’s on fire, but he’s not getting any help from the bottom six. His longest point-run is 17 games in 2021.

• Defenceman Spencer Stastney will be playing against his former Predators for the first time since the Dec. 12 trade for a third-round draft pick. He knew something might be up because of the numbers on the back-end in Nashville. He wasn’t held out of the game before the deal to guard against injury, instead playing against St. Louis. “My agent texted me afterwards and said there was a trade in the works with Edmonton. He said it might not happen tonight or tomorrow but be ready. I went to bed, woke up and there was a notification from (GM) Barry Trotz to go to the rink and grab your stuff,” said Stastney, who has averaged 17:23 in his 11 Oiler games, some with Darnell Nurse, and now with Ty Emberson.

• One NHL scout who has watched Trent Frederic go through his awful patch with three points, two goals and one assist in his 41 Oiler games: “He’s a participant but he doesn’t participate.”

• Frederic, who played the fewest minutes of any Oiler forward (8:39) in the loss to Philly on Saturday, was an extra forward at Sunday’s practice, as he should be, along with farm call-up Quinn Hutson. Hutson played 9:17.

• How anemic offensively was the bottom six in the 5-2 loss to Philly? The defensively solid Henrique, mired in a crushing 34-game scoring drought, had the only shot. Mattias Janmark, absent from Sunday’s practice (undisclosed), Frederic, Savoie, Hutson and Howard had none on goalie Dan Vladar.

• Knoblauch gave Howard-Savoie-Hutson line a look for the Flyers game, but it might have only been a one-time thing. It wasn’t as good a fit or storyline, as it appeared on paper. “There was some good stuff, some bad stuff, overall, it was mostly positive,” said Knoblauch, who wanted three offensive guys on one line and not playing them with more defensive-minded players. But they got stung on the Flyers’ fourth goal, with centre Rodrigo Abols beating the normal Savoie on a draw to set up Nick Seeler’s goal in traffic. The Young Offenders in this case, as somebody suggested of a nickname other than Kid Line.

• Draisaitl, who had a career-high 18-game point-streak from late January to mid February in 2025, is going through an uncharacteristic tough patch. He’s still fifth in league scoring but since the Christmas break in four games, he has two assists (only one ES). He’s human, and maybe he’s just a little tired averaging 22 minutes a game. He’ll come around as he always does, but he only has one even-strength goal since Dec. 1, one 5-on-5 snipe in his last 13 games. “No player can be dominant for an entire season,” said Knoblauch. Indeed, McDavid only had one goal in his first 10 games but has 25 now. “Maybe he’s forcing things but I’ve never really seen him have a slump. But the guys around him aren’t collectively meshing,” said Knoblauch.

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